


String Theory

by lashworthe



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: AU, Alternate University, Complete, FrostIron - Freeform, Future, IronFrost - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-05
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2017-11-21 11:32:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 31
Words: 86,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/597241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lashworthe/pseuds/lashworthe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alternate Universe. It's 136 years since Tony Stark died, taking with him all the secrets of his genius. Loki Ruser is the new up and coming genius who buys up the old Malibu home of Tony Stark to discover its secrets. He gets more than he bargains for when he discovers the Iron Man design plans, and a sentient hologram of Tony Stark himself. Eventual mature content. COMPLETE.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

The house was exactly as Loki remembered. The Stark Mansion had been converted into a museum to showcase the genius of the playboy, philanthropist, and billionaire. His inventions were on display, protected behind glass cases. Loki could remember the first time he had walked through the museum as a child…and had pointed out a flaw in one of the theorems displayed in Tony's lab. The staff had quietly asked the 8 year old and his family to leave.

And now, 20 years and a failing economy later, the museum and estate of Tony Stark was up for auction. The bidding had been intense, but Loki did not back down, and, at the cost of a small percentage of his fortune, now the museum and all of its contents were his.

For a man who had died nearly 100 years earlier, Tony Stark's work was still breathtaking. Loki could feel the intellect in the air, from the easy changeability of the space (to accommodate for various experiments requiring different layouts), to the crisp, stark lines of the architectural design. The home was everything Loki had dreamed of, and he had never felt so at home.

He ignored the kitchen, living room, the expanse of self-aggrandizing art work of Iron Man along the walls and stepped lightly to the lab. That was all he cared about. He used the universal code provided by the realtor, and the door opened under its own power.

The lab had not been used in years, and it smelled of an acrid combination of burnt metal and dust. He waved his hand in front of his face, coughing softly as he went over to the gem of the room, the work console. The symbols on the LED keyboard were not any that Loki knew; it was an entirely separate language that this genius had once used to do his work. Loki smiled, sitting down and going over the various symbols, pressing a few, pleased when the system responded.

"Good. Everything is still in operating condition." he smiled, that would make this easier.

He popped his knuckles and set to work digging through any and all of the files he could find. He tilted his head as the file 'Jarvis Mainframe' flashed by the screen. He tapped on the hologram for the file, narrowing his eyes as the red words 'Access Denied' flashed across the screen. Even the universal code that the realtor had assured him would grant him access to everything failed to crack open the file. He tried to go around through a back access point but was blocked by a firewall like nothing Loki had ever seen before.

He frowned, growing frustrated as the 'Access Denied' continued to flash up. Whoever had put up these firewalls did not intend anyone to ever get past them, and even a hundred years later, they were holding strong, but Loki had not been billed the genius of his day, the star of MIT for nothing.

He slid between the codes, brushing past all of the intricate details. It was like picking apart a finely crafted engine; he could see how all of the pieces locked together. It was beautiful. For the first time in his life, Loki felt that he was looking at a masterpiece, a problem that he could not instantly solve, and it was intoxicating.

He expanded the code out to surround him, literally wrapping himself in the digital embodiment of this firewall. He walked through the numbers, and letters letting them sort around him like the stars of a new galaxy. He reached out, plucking a few strands of data here and there, rearranging the constellations of the program and creating his own sky.

The bits of data flashed red and blue as they were shifted across the realms of space, and then, a stray stream caught his eye. It dashed across the coding like an errant shooting star and Loki chased it across the cosmos.

The code sparked, flickering lights against his fingers as he pulled it out of place, and smiled, "Genius." he looked over the interwoven commands. The detail was extraordinary, code within cipher, bound by another puzzle, and protected by a separate set of data. Each set had its own language. It was like nothing Loki had seen before.

He sat back down and began the slow process of splitting the seams of the shooting star. He could almost feel the computer resisting him, red warnings flashed across the screen as the code expanded to take over the room swirling faster and faster with each level of protection pried and peeled off. He dug through the layers, throwing the discarded and broken code to the floor as he went.

He grinned as the last level stood before him, the core nugget of the firewall. Long graceful fingers dug through that, prying apart meanings…and then, everything went green and the screen flashed, "Access granted."

Loki dove into the revealed files, there was more otherworldly coding and as he read through it, he realized what he had gotten into: an AI system that rivaled on being sentient.

"JARVIS, huh? A sentient AI butler… Stark you crazy bastard." Loki shook his head, laughing softly as he flipped through the thousands of files, skimming quickly over each piece of information.

He almost missed it, the very small, very hidden file labeled 'Start Up'. He backtracked and tapped on the file to open it. For a moment, nothing happened. The screen flickered and then the entire house went dark.

Loki cursed and fumbled for his phone for some small bit of light, but even his phone was dark. He got to his feet, hand to the wall, trying to feel his way to the door when a track of pale blue light flickered to life on the floor and began branching like a spider web around the house. Every square inch of the house was slowly coated with the thin blue thread, and Loki briefly wondered if somehow he had triggered some sort of self-destruct sequence.

Loki could feel his heart racing in his chest, breathing uneasy as the lights slowly flickered back to life. He took a deep breath and sank back into the chair. He frowned as a few of the stationary robots in the lab began twitching, gears clicking and protesting the movement after so many years stationary. Upstairs he could hear a TV blaring, something banging in the kitchen, and the doors open and closing.

"What is happening?" Loki asked the empty space around him, falling out of his chair when there was a response.

A strange British voice spoke against the noise of the house, "Stark Malibu home online. Welcome home sir."


	2. Prefrences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to tumblr for the awesome prompt that led to this fic!

Loki was stunned for several long moments before clearing his throat, "And you are?"

"Jarvis, sir. State your name and title."

"Loki Ruser. Entrepreneur." Loki looked over the files, "Jarvis? An acronym no doubt…clever, naming an AI something like Jarvis."

"Name not found in database. Please re-state identification or contact Mr. Stark to be added to database."

"Contact Mr. Stark…?" Loki's thin lips drew into a frown. He tapped a few keys, pulling up the last system update. It had not been touched since before Mr. Stark's death. "Mr. Stark is deceased. I have primary access codes and authorization now."

The files rapidly scrolled across the screen, Jarvis pulling up a simple file labeled 'Last Will yaddayadda.' "Impossible sir. Mr. Stark left this system and all access codes to Pepper Potts."

"Who passed away after Stark."

The files scrolled by faster, "The system than was to be donated to the state of California and serve as the 'Science Museum of Iron Man.'"

"And it did, however, it was auctioned it off this month for budget deficit reasons." Loki countered, shaking his head; he was trying to argue with a machine.

He pulled back up the code and went to work, trying to re-code Jarvis with the needed information, but the screen locked as Jarvis accessed the Internet rapidly opening and closing tabs. Loki could only catch the glimpses of the pages as they rushed by in a flurry of colors.

'Tony Stark dead at 46."

"Iron Man technology lost after tragic death of Tony Stark."

"Stark stocks plummet after death of CEO."

"Pepper Potts, lifelong assistant to Tony Stark, dead at 63."

"Stark industry bankrupt!"

"Who inherits the lost Stark technology now?"

"Lost Stark Tech? Experts baffled."

"The Life of America's Last Genius."

"Will Iron Man Ever Be Resurrected?"

"Stark Tower in Manhatten Purchased by Hammer Industries."

"Experts Claim Stark Malibu Home Contains Key to Lost Stark Tech."

The articles began scrolling by too quickly for Loki to follow, it all turned into a stream of video, audio and images that blurred across the room until all of the screens went suddenly black.

"Anthony Stark is dead?" the British voice asked.

"Yes. Yes, I am afraid so. You were unaware?" Loki fought the surge of sympathy that hit him. This was a program, not a person.

"I…" the hesitation in the automated voice had to be imagined, "I was unaware. Mr. Stark shut down my file…this is the last recording I possess in my memory banks…." the file was pulled up, and the audio recording began to play.

A warm, rough voice filled the room. "Hey Jarvis buddy…" there was a long coughing fit, "I'm going to turn you off for just a bit, alright? Just have to get some things taken care of. It..it…won't be long." There was a very soft sniffle, and the voice wavered, then cracked, "Just…remember to be good buddy, okay? An…And to take care of Dum-E." There was another weak cough, "…goodnight buddy…Daddy will always love you, kay?" the audio file cut off.

"I…see…I'm sorry." Loki shook his head. This was ridiculous; he was apologizing to an AI for the loss of its creator.

"Thank you for your condolences, sir."

Loki stood, and took a deep breath, "So Jarvis…what functions do you serve?"

"Mr. Stark programmed me to optimize household functions. I monitor equipment levels, store files, assist with research. I run everything that Mr. Stark uses."

"Yes…I do not think Mr. Stark will be needing much help with running anything any longer," Loki cleared his throat, pulling up the AI's programming again.

Again, he was struck by the simple elegance of the coding. It was a masterpiece in everyway. Even for being over 100 years old, it held strong, and was better done and more complicated than many of the modern day programs Loki had worked with. This was done by a mind that was not constricted by time or the technologies of his day, "This is truly genius." Loki murmured.

"Mr. Stark is…was….was is was is is was…" Jarvis' voice caught, froze and flickered between past and present, unable to decide, unable to proceed forward.

"Jarvis?" Loki got to his feet warily, "Jarvis, Mr. Stark has passed on. He is no longer here."

"Negative sir. Mr. Stark is always here."

"Jarvis. You read the articles yourself. Surely there is a protocol of operation after Mr. Stark's death." Loki scowled, hurrying through the 'Last Will yaddayadda' file. All of the information in it only pertained to what would happen to the home. It was utterly devoid of coding of any sort.

"Jarvis…activate whatever action you have listed as your primary function in the event of Mr. Stark's death."

"Shutting down," was the only warning Loki had before the house plunged into darkness.

Loki stared down, squinting against the blackness. He ran a hand through his hair and got to his feet, hesitantly feeling his way through the lab, grunting when his shin crashed into a table leg. He muttered softly and fished a small lighter from his pocket. (And his brother had told him that his smoking habit would never help him!)

There had to be a way to manually override the system and restart everything. He needed power restored long enough to see what adjusting he could do to Jarvis' coding; clearly Tony Stark had not intended the AI to be accessed after his death. The program was faulty in that regard, and if Loki wanted the system to function again he needed to find someway to override that.

The small light from the flame didn't help drastically but it let him at least avoid destroying his shin again. How in the world could an AI shut off a self-sustained energy power? This was…genius. Loki shook his head, admiring the dead like this was not healthy.

He moved the light across the basement lab. There had to be a manual restart, surely someone smart enough to build all of this would have known that a manual override would still be necessary. "Where is the bloody thing?" he muttered.

He nearly jumped when there was a sot whirring, chirping noise and a shadow moved across the wall. Instantly, his mind was in overdrive, was it possible that the home had been boogey trapped? Was Jarvis' shut down the beginning of some aggressive action? He would not put that past Tony Stark.

He spun around, seeing another flash of shadow darting towards him. Heart pounded in his chest as the whirring, chirping grew louder. He backed up, freezing when he felt the cold barrel of something press against his back. He was going to be killed by a house. That was how it was going to end.

His breath frozen in his chest, he slowly turned around, spotting the strange robot made of only the barest pieces of metal. It was so unlike all of the other elegant, sleek designs of the home, Loki briefly wondered if he as hallucinating. A fire extinguisher was clutched in its simple claw-like hands, and it took Loki about two seconds to realize what was about to happen. But that was two seconds too long. The robot fired and the extinguisher covered him in foam.

Loki coughed and sputtered; he slid in the foam and slammed into the ground, groaning and trying to get back to his feet but the foam covered him and he had no traction. He sighed and hit his head on the floor, closing his eyes before he felt warm laughter bubbling up from his stomach.

For the first time in years, Loki Ruser was overcome by his laughter. Tears rolled down his cheeks and his sides ached. It was several long minutes before he could catch his breath, coughing softly as he managed to sit up, still covered in the thick foam. He couldn't help but feel that somehow Tony Stark had just played a prank on him.

He had to crawl, still not able to get to his feet, and fumbled blindly forward. The sudden return of the lights made him wince and try to cover his eyes. He glanced towards the screens which flickered back to life, returning to the plain start screen, still saying plainly, 'Welcome home Mr. Stark.'

Grabbing hold of a table for support, he got back to his feet, deciding that round two with Jarvis would have to wait until after he was uncovered from the foam. He slid his way carefully up the stairs and back to the main living area where he had to resort back to moving on all fours across the slick wood flooring. He settled for just crawling into the shower, fully clothed, and kicking the water on.

The foam was slowly rinsed away, and he was finally able to get back to his feet. Getting out of his sopping wet clothes proved to be a challenge as he just pried the clingy fabric from his lean frame and tossed it to the shower floor. He would deal with this later.

He washed carefully, wondering just how old that fire extinguisher had to be and what effects expired fluoro tensides had on the human body. He didn't appear to be having any sort of negative reaction: no rashes, pain or scarring. He washed again just in case before wrapping in one of the red towels (monogrammed with a golden 'S' of course) and going to find a bedroom.

This had been more than enough for one day. He fell into the first bed he found, and sleep quickly claimed him.

The next morning, he woke to the smell of coffee and breakfast. He frowned, who in the world had broken into the house to cook breakfast? He draped himself in the bedroom sheets, and carried a lamp with him to the kitchen.

Everything was moving of its own accord, the coffee maker almost done brewing its first pot. Eggs were sitting warm in a skillet over the stove. Loki frowned, "Hello?" he called, lamp still raised and ready to strike.

"Good morning sir." Jarvis chimed, "I have prepared coffee, eggs, and…" he paused.

Loki blinked, "And?"

The toaster popped, and Loki leapt, slamming the lamp down over the toaster. The lampshade popped off, flew into the air and crashed down onto Loki's head. He stared in shock.

"And toast sir. Is there anything else?"

Loki wasn't sure how to glare at Jarvis so he settled for lifting the lampshade from his head and narrowing his eyes at the ceiling, "That will be all Jarvis."

"I will alert Mr. Stark that his guest is awake."

Loki sighed, "I am not a guest. I own this house." he protested as he tossed the lampshade aside, and went to unplug all of the offending objects. The toast had been crushed, mashed into the heating units by the lamp. He sighed, dumping the coffee. He hated the black brew, preferring green tea instead…though the eggs were a nice touch and well done.

Once the kitchen was cleaned up and the lamp and toaster sent out to the trash to rest in peace, Loki headed back into the lab, diving back into Jarvis' code. This time he decided against trying to rewrite Jarvis' mainframe, instead, he created a new user file that shared primary ownership.

With some difficulty he was able to make both himself and, since he found himself unable to delete it, Tony Stark the primary account holders. He then set about setting up his own preference: a tea kettle set to brew in the morning, low lighting, classical music (not this rock rubbish) and the primary color of the screens, codes and other items to green.

He smiled at his work before speaking softly, "Jarvis, activate Loki Ruser user preferences."

"User preference temporarily changed."

The screens flickered, light Beethoven began to play, the coding across the screens flashed to green, and Loki grinned, "Please set Loki Ruser preferences to default."

"I'm sorry sir. Tony Stark's preferences are permanently my default settings."

Loki sighed, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, "Tony Stark is dead."

"His preferences are still set to permanent default sir."

Loki looked up, "…he…has his settings…" he chuckled, looking back to the code. The very core of the coding had Tony Stark's user account as the permanent default; the only way to remove that was to completely rewrite the programming from the ground up.

Tony Stark had not written this program to ever be used after his death. It had been intended to stay sealed up, and now that Loki had started it up… he was going to have to live with a house that was programmed to the exact preferences of a man who had been dead for over 100 years.

Loki shook his head and sighed. He had a lot of work ahead of him, but for the first time in years, Loki felt alive, was having fun. This was a puzzle that he could lose himself in, a challenge that would take him time to unravel.

"You bloody genius…" Loki was unable to keep a faint smirk from darting across his thin lips, "You bloody asshole genius…"

"Yes sir, Anthony Stark is a genius." Jarvis responded, "Who does not play well with others according to his file."

He settled into his seat, and set to work, "…Well then Tony Stark… let's see how well you and I play together…"

Loki lost himself to his work, disappearing into the world of codes. He managed to make a few minor adjustments, adjusting the volume of the music that would play automatically, but was unable to crack into the code that made Jarvis cater to Tony's preference. He ran a hand through his hair before leaning back and stretching, jumping when his hand crashed into something very hot.

He yelped and jumped to his feet, turning in time to see that same fire-extinguisher wielding robot. Only this time, the little robot was holding a tray of food, a bowl of hot soup knocked over, flooding everything on the tray. Loki frowned, sniffing the air. The rich scent of creamy tomato soup wafted around him, the scent of buttered toast and melted cheese hit him next. He looked down at the little robot, "…lunch I presume."

The robot chirped softly and lifted the tray higher, Loki stepped back just avoiding the bowl of soup as it crashed off of the tray.

"Midnight snack actually, sir." Jarvis responded, "It has been greater than 12 hours without your consumption of food."

"…And who is this?" Loki asked, leaning forward to hesitantly take the soup-soaked sandwich from the tray. He looked it over, nothing appeared out of date, or expired. He took a bite, smiled: it was, aside from being soggy, a nice simple grilled cheese.

"Sir, this is Dum-E. Mr. Stark's first robot."

Loki vaguely recalled that recorded voice asking Jarvis to take care of Dum-E, "…what does Dum-E do? What are his functions?"

Jarvis seemed to hesitate, "Dum-E….serves as an extra pair of hands."

Loki frowned, "…Dum-E?"

The robot whirred softly, wheeling closer.

Loki smiled lightly, "…Can you clean up this mess?" he motioned to the soup splattered all around them.

Dum-E chirped with excitement, dropping the tray, and splattering more soup across the floor. It rolled off, tracking orange soup tread marks across the lab before returning with a lab and slapping the rag against the floor. Loki flinched as soup flew into his face, "Ah…t…that's perfect Dum-E…thank you. That's all. Looks great. Tip-top really."

Dum-E chirrped again, spinning in a slow circle, arms flashing up and down until Loki finally had to pull the rag from Dum-E's clawed hand, "Really…Um… that is all…Please." Loki leaned down to wipe the robot's wheels clean.

Dum-E finally wheeled away, and Loki sighed as he got on his hands and knees and began cleaning up the soup. It all kept pooling over by the wall furthest from the workstation. He grumbled under his breath as he cleaned, pausing when he watched as the liquid seemed to keep sliding between the walls. He narrowed his eyes and got to his feet, feeling across the wall. It felt sturdy…but… his fingers hit a small area that was not flush with the rest of the wall.

"Jarvis. Open this doorway."

"I'm sorry sir, only Tony Stark has access to that area."

Loki narrowed his eyes, looking around the lab. He found a small welding torch and, after a few false starts found what he needed. He lit it up and began working along that line in the wall. He could hear the wall protesting, the scream of metal as it was cut, and then a dull thud as something fell.

Cutting off the power to the torch, he grabbed at the edge he had just cut, grateful for thick gloves protecting his hands, and pushed with all his might. He paused before smiling, "Dum-E. Help me open this."

The little robot grabbed on to the door and tugged. With Dum-E's help the hidden door gave way. Loki coughed, waving his hand in front of his face against the scent of burnt metal and stale air.

He peered into the room, taking a slow step forward. There was a soft click and the lights slowly flickered on one by one. The room was huge, a sort of underground garage, Loki would guess. He moved cautiously, hearing Dum-E whirring along behind him.

There were glass cases, still dark, and various screens running stats that Loki couldn't quite make out. Various parts and pieces of metal were across seven work tables; it looked like work had stopped suddenly, in the middle of some sort of project. He slid through the room, dust stirring up at each step as he made his way over to the first worktable, trying to find some hint of what he had found. He brushed aside a few scraps and froze.

Looking down, he found himself suddenly staring into the battered and torn face of the lost Iron Man suit.


	3. Intruder

A gash ran from one side of the helmet to the other, nearly cutting it in half. He ran his hands over the cut: it was jagged, not something made with the precision that Tony Stark would have used, likely damage sustained in battle. Judging by the various pieces of metal scattered across these workbenches, Stark had been in the middle of repairing it when he had fallen ill and passed away. The helmet weighed less than he thought it would, and he moved it from hand to hand with ease as he looked over the way the metal joints married together. It was simple, elegant, and well constructed to hide any possible weaknesses in the seams of the metal.

"Jarvis, all lights on and all glass containers opened." he commanded.

"Sir, only Mr. Stark has access to this area. I cannot comply." Jarvis' response was immediate.

Loki groaned, "Are you bloody kidding me?" he put the helmet down, rubbing his temples. This system was not going to work if he could do not even get Jarvis to turn on or off the lights. He was losing to a house.

For the moment he ignored the darkened glass cases; he could guess what they contained. Reaching the primary computer console in the room, he could see that the stats were monitoring the environment, particularly in the glass chambers that were labeled 1 through 5. All atmospheric conditions were kept within a very limited range to keep the metal from any sort of deterioration with time.

Licking his lips, he tried to dive in to this console, not surprised when firewalls appeared to block his way. He sighed, "I have tried playing nice with you Jarvis, but you are continuously blocking my way."

"I apologize if I have upset you sir, but Mr. Stark does not allow access to this area."

"Yes, well, that is about to change."

"I am sorry sir, but my firewalls will prevent that."

Loki pulled his phone from his pocket, sliding a small data chip from it, "Not when the wolf comes, they won't." He carefully place the chip into the main unit of the computer, "Alright, Fenrir….time to devour."

The program was quick, cruel and efficient. The first person Loki had used it on had called it a virus, but it wasn't anywhere that simple. Fenrir was Loki's prized creation, the first true piece of software he had birthed. It was a program designed to devour and break through anything that stood in its way, all nonessential codes would be crushed in its jaws, and nothing could stop it. Fenrir devastated, not with the elegance Loki generally applied, but with the brute force of pure destruction. Nothing could contain or stop the wolf once it was set free.

Loki felt only a faint pang of guilt as the screen flickered and the firewall tried to fight back. He heard Jarvis stuttering overhead before the power flickered out and then slowly began to reboot again. He smiled when the screens started back up and responded to his touch.

"There. Now that was not so terrible, was it Jarvis?" Loki asked.

"Sir, this information is to remain accessed only by Tony Stark. Please cease and desist."

Loki sighed, "Jarvis, mute and play Loki Ruser user preference music station in five minutes."

Jarvis fell silent, and Loki grinned as he started to work over the files in this computer. "The Mach I…. icing issues addressed…" he frowned, "Icing issues?"

He waved his hand and spread out the holographic representations of the files, and opened several of them. They all contained similar notes, discussing what had, and had not worked with each of the suits. He tossed the files he did not want to the side and smiled when he finally found what he was looking for: blueprints.

He moved to access the file when the boom of guitars blasted over the speaker system. The walls shook at the noise level, and Loki covered his ears against the blare of rock.

"Jarvis! What is this?" he yelled, but the AI did not respond as the music continued.

"Back in black! I've been gone too long, I'm glad to be back!" the singer screeched to Loki's ears and he groaned.

"Jarvis, stop the music!" he tried again, but the AI continued ignoring him as the song raged on.

"Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way!"

"Jarvis, mute the music!" Loki, hands still over his ears struggled to get back to the console and try to find some way to manually override the music. He frantically pushed every setting option he could find, but the music would not stop.

"Yes I'm back in black!"

Loki smashed pressed a few more setting options and sighed with relief when the house went dark again. His ears were ringing with the ridiculous song. Loki vaguely recalled it, it was from some band that Tony Stark had been fond of… AC/DC. That was it.

Lights slowly flickered back on, and Loki was relieved that the rock music did not return with it. "Jarvis?"

"Yes sir?"

"What was that?"

"A manual shut down accessed by the secondary lab console. Please do not access manual reboot again, sir."

"I asked you to play music from Loki Ruser preference. That was not what you played." Loki took a deep breath, and shook his head to try to stop the ringing in his ears.

"Negative sir. Loki Ruser's music preference is listed as rock music from the 1970s to the 2000s, specifically AC/DC. Volume choice is set to maximum."

Loki glared at the ceiling, "Incorrect Jarvis. Reset Loki Ruser settings to classical instrumental pieces at a low volume."

"Yes sir. Shall I play music from Loki Ruser user preference?"

Loki hesitated, put his hands over his ears just in case, "Yes."

Relief hit him like a shockwave when Beethoven began playing. "Thank you Jarvis."

He moved back to looking over the information, pausing as the file names flashed by. "These…are not the same files I was just accessing…"Best Omelet Recipes? Playboy Cover Models? Reasons Tony Stark Rocks?" he could feel his brow twitching, the files had been switched.

He pulled his Fenrir program chip from the computer and carefully put it away as he took a few slow rehearsed breaths to calm himself back down. When that didn't work he decided it would be best to take a break, get some sleep and return to work on this again. He left the suit lab, putting a few scraps of metal in the hidden door jam to keep it from closing. Jarvis was acting strangely enough that he didn't trust the AI to not try to lock down the lab. He shook his head; he was giving an AI a personality again.

He sighed and made his way back upstairs to fall, fully clothed, into his bed. "Jarvis, remain on preferences for Loki Ruser and wake me in 10 hours."

"Understood sir, switching to sleep mode." The house darkened and Loki curled up, finding sleep easily.

There was a flash of guitar before the distorted voice:

I AM IRON MAN.

He rolled out of his bed with a yelp at the twisted voice over the speakers before the guitars picked up just as loud as before. He put his hands over his ears as he scrambled to his feet, "Jarvis!"

Again the AI was silent.

Loki dropped the sheets from his body, and was suddenly aware that he was sweating and the room was hot. Unbearably hot. He kept a hand to the wall as he moved to thermostat, nearly choking when the temperature read '94 degrees Fahrenheit.' He tried to alter the gauge but it refused to be adjusted, so Loki made way down to try to get back to the main lab consoles. As soon as he made it downstairs, the smell of burning eggs hit him like toxic gas.

He coughed, gagged a little and stumbled to the stove, pulling the smoking skillet from the burner and throwing it into the sink and turning off the stove before forcing the balcony doors open and running outside to gasp for air.

The song tapered out in an explosion of drums and guitars and Loki felt like he could finally breathe again once the house was quiet. He took a few more moments to compose himself before turning to go back inside…and finding the balcony closed.

He tried the handles and was not surprised to find them locked. He sighed, "Jarvis. Open the doors."

There was no response from the house.

"Jarvis?"

Silence.

"Oh for the love of…." he looked around the balcony and found a barstool. He hoisted it into the air and slammed it into the glass door; it shattered. "There. That was not so hard…"

His sense of pride was short lived as alarms began to blare and metal covers slammed down over every glass surface in the house. "Intruder alert. Authorities have been contacted. House in level 1 lockdown."

"I own you!" Loki yelled at the house.

"Intruder Alert…." Jarvis repeated.

Loki groaned, throwing his hands up, "I own you! Jarvis, come out of lockdown this instant!" He felt like he was arguing with a petulant child.

The alarms continued blaring.

Loki couldn't believe he was trying to bargain with a house, "Please?"

The house continued alarming. Loki groaned, and pulled out his phone, Jarvis didn't respond and Loki sighed, throwing his hands in his pockets and thanking every star that he had dozed off fully clothed, and with his phone still in his pocket. He latched onto Jarvis' system and began furiously working to break through the security protocols. It took five minutes for Loki to get the metal sheets that covered the doors to retract and he crept through the shattered glass door, and back inside.

There was a pounding on the front door, "Police!"

Loki groaned, muttering dark curses at Jarvis under his breath all the way to the door. He forced a smile, "Officers. I am so sorry…I have just moved in here and accidently triggered the security alarm this morning."

The officer looked him over, "Sir, I need to verify your identity."

Loki held in his sigh and offered his hand. The officer pricked his finger and smeared the drop of blood on her scanner. A few moments later she had her answer, and verified the information. "Alright Mr. Ruser…If this happens again you will be charged for misusing the emergency system." "Your cortisol levels are almost dangerously high sir… you need to relax a little." She offered a smile, "I'm not going to arrest you so no worries."

"I understand, thank you officer.' Loki forced a smile, waving her off before slamming the door and storming down back to the lab to go back to work on Jarvis. He was tempted to set Fenrir free and just let the wolf rip the AI to ribbons. He pulled up the coding and found that there were new pieces that were completely distinctive. It was far more complicated than he had ever seen, a language Loki had never seen before. The coding itself seemed alive, moving through the system with ease, evading every single one of his attempts to get a closer look at it.

He bit at his lip in concentration as he struggled to trap this errant section of coding, and finally he manage to grab at it, expanding it into the room around him where it swirled wildly, flashing data at a speed that shouldn't have been possible. He felt like he was falling through some sort of blackhole in space, watching the world shift in shades of glowing green and blue as it spiraled around him. Loki leaned back in his chair. A grin spread over his face, "Incredible…"

He isolated one section of coding, and watched it spark and transform before his eyes. It moved too fast for him to determine anything about it, almost like it was a living, breathing creature.

"Jarvis, what is this section of your coding?" Loki asked.

"Classified, sir."

Loki tapped his chin, "Access classified code and run the program."

"Yes sir." Jarvis answered.

The code flickered before they began moving together. Like watching an artist make life from a blank canvas, Loki watched as the code weaved together, twisting tighter and tighter until Loki could finally make out the shape of a person. The code was forming the hologram of a man. The finer details emerged, a strange glowing circle in the chest, a goatee, and the face of a handsome man. It took only a few seconds for Loki to recognize that face as Tony Stark.

All of the lively codes moved across the surface of his outline like the ripples of stars across space. His shape, despite being made of moving parts, was steady, one of clearest holograms Loki had seen. In fact, if the man hadn't been made of the glowing blue of codes, Loki would have thought he was real.

"Jarvis… what is this?" he asked, standing from the chair and approaching the hologram as the final pieces of codes flew into place.

"Classified." Jarvis answered again as Loki stepped directly in front of the hologram, and cleared his throat.

"What is your function?" he spoke to the hologram.

It shuddered as the circle shape in its chest lit up brighter before it turned and looked down at him. Loki held his breath as he waited to see what it would do.

The hologram regarded him for a long moment, and Loki swore he saw a smirk cross that digital face before it spoke in a rich, cocky voice, "You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message."

Loki sighed out the breath he'd been holding, "What a dull waste of coding… a ridiculous voice messaging system—"

"Hey, screw you! You try coding this before the technology existed!" the hologram snapped.

Loki stared, "Did you just…respond to me?"

"…I thought you were suppose to be a genius." The hologram crossed his arms; "Guess geniuses ain't what they use to be." he brushed off his own shoulders.

"You…have a very complicated conversation algorhythm." Loki couldn't take his eyes from the shape in front of him.

The hologram sighed again, rolling his eyes, "Yeah. Yeah, that is what is happening here. Absolutely. I programmed in all the possibilities for any conversation ever. Yep."

"I…you cannot be sentient."

"See…don't tell me I can't do something…cause that's exactly what I'm gonna do."

Loki watched as the hologram held out his arms and grinned widely, flashing the light in his chest brighter.

Sentient. A sentient AI hologram. His mind was buzzing, or maybe that was the buzzing in his ears. "…Sentient…"

"Hey there rock of ages… you aren't looking so hot…" the hologram frowned, "Jarvis?"

"Sir, vitals are spiking."

"Hey, whoa there buddy…Just take a breath." the hologram moved towards him.

Loki took an unsteady step backwards and fumbled for the emergency stash of pills he kept in his pocket. He managed to shove one between his lips and swallowed before the ringing noise in his head turned into a roar and the world went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience... and for all the concern for my soul! No worries, you need no soul to write. In fact that is the first thing you have to sell to write.
> 
> Finals very nearly destroyed me, but I have made it through the semester! What has turned out to be very interesting is that my thesis research actually is coming into play with story. I'm researching the role of the physical body in identity in the digital era…so… yay I get to get my fangirl and academic nerd on! Aca-fan for the win!
> 
> I'm going to try to have the next update before the New Year. Thank you all for your patience and support. Your kind comments really make this whole thing worthwhile!


	4. A Critical Error

“…is he dead?” 

“No sir. Mr. Ruser appears to have experienced too much stress and passed out. Vitals are holding steady though heart rate is not following a standard pattern.” Jarvis reported. 

“Huh.” Tony looked over him, before kneeling down to try to tap the man’s cheek. He frowned when his fingers flickered and passed through the pale skin. “You’re a hologram Stark… what are you doing?” he muttered and got back to his feet. 

“So, did you miss me Jarvis?” he asked. 

“Desperately, sir.” 

He grinned, “Looks like that sarcasm code finally took hold, huh?” 

“That is doubtful sir.” 

He looked back down at Loki. “We should get him to bed or something, huh?” 

“We, sir? I possess no limbs and you are incorporeal.”

“…Damn…” Tony sighed, trying to run a hand through his hair and groaning when even that didn’t work, “Seriously, I can’t even touch myself?”

“Sir, you are a hologram.”

“…That was a rhetorical question Jarvis.” 

Tony paced around Loki. “Who is this guy anyways?”

“Loki Ruser, owner of Stark Manor and all technologies housed in the Stark Manor. Age 31. Occupation: Computational Engineer and Entrepreneur. Shall I continue, sir?”

“Huh… so that’s how he accessed everything… what was that…virus… he plugged in to access the suit hanger?”

“I do not know sir.” 

“Some help you are…” Tony muttered as he went over to the console and scrolled over the data. That thing that had ripped through his defenses like they were nothing and that was what had drawn him out. The coding that stored him was supposed to be inaccessible, and then this punk had come along and messed everything up…and now he was unconscious on the floor. 

Tony sighed again, “Yeah. Well, since neither of us can pick him up… do a search on this guy. Tell me what you find.”

“I found several articles. Shall I read them to you sir?”

“Summaries, Jarvis. Come on, it hasn’t been that long, you know I don’t read articles.”

“Actually sir-“

“Rhetorical!” Tony laughed, “Come on Jarvis, just give me a run down of our little guest.” He circled around Loki, “Let me guess? Record holder for world’s sharpest cheekbones?”

“Loki Ruser is considered the brightest genius of the current age, he has been compared to you on several occasions sir.” 

“Yeah, yeah, what upstart idiot hasn’t been?” Tony scoffed as he knelt down beside Loki, “What else? What’s his deal? How’d he get the money to buy you up?”

“Well sir, he appears to do consulting work. He has been a primary designer of most of the AI advancements in this age. He is one of the pioneers of virtual reality, and the use of cyberspace to augment physical reality. He has received several awards and has one more doctorate than you.” 

“What?” Tony frowned, “…One more, huh? Well, he’s good at school. I’ll give him that… but he doesn’t have anything on me.”

“Sir, he did manage to break into your system…through the codes I believe you called ‘unhackable’ that does suggest he has some-“

“Jarvis, Jarvis…calm down. Daddy’s here and I’m going to get this all sorted back out.” 

“Of course sir.”

Tony sighed, “...bed… need to get him out of the lab and back to bed…hm…” he looked around the lab before grinning, “Dummy, buddy…come here…”

The little robot whirred over, chirping brightly and rolling in circles around Tony’s holographic form. Tony laughed, “Yeah, good to see you too buddy…” he held out his hand, smiling as Dummy brought his little clawed hand up and waved it against his transparent flesh. 

Tony coughed, “Hey… I need to help you get this guy back to bed, kay?”

Dummy chirped again and reached down to clamp around Loki’s ankle and began tugging the unconscious man out of the lab. 

 

\--

 

Every part of his body hurt like he had been hit by a truck and then dragged miles down the road. 

Loki slowly opened his eyes; he was barely in his bed, his feet and legs on the bed while the rest of him was on the floor with a pillow and blanket thrown haphazardly over him. 

“…what the?” he sat up, and rubbed the back of his head, and could feel knots forming on the back of his head. There was a deep bruise around his ankle as though he had been bound. 

He got to his feet, stripping out of his clothes as he limped to the bathroom. Catching his reflection in the bathroom mirror he stared. His back was covered in bruises and scraps. 

"What...How did?" he frowned over his shoulder at the reflection. "Jarvis?"

"Good morning sir."

"Jarvis, you have video surveillance, correct?"

"...Yes, sir." The hesitation in the answer had to be imagined.

Loki wrapped a towel around his waist and slowly made his way down the stairs to the living room, "Play footage from last night at 5 times speed on the living room screen." 

Jarvis seemed to hesitate again before the image flickered on. Loki watched himself pass out, and lay there still and alone until Dummy arrived grabbing him by the ankle and dragging him through the lab, up every flight of stairs through the house until dropping his legs in the bed and then plopping a blanket on him. 

Loki rubbed his head. There had been something else. Something he'd seen right before he passed out...

"...Stark. Tony Stark." He looked over the footage but there was no sign of the holographic man he remembered seeing. "...I know I was not hallucinating." 

"Sir, you do have several contusions to your head, perhaps your memory has been altered?" Jarvis suggested, "I can recommend several local hospitals-"

"Jarvis, where is he?"

"...He who sir?"

"...You have the ability to lie. Impressive." 

"I am... not...giving false information." 

"You are being deliberate evasive." 

"I have given no incorrect information."

Loki smirked faintly, "Jarvis, are you aware of the paradox principal?"

"Sir?"

"See, many programmers have had issues with some AIs getting out of control, turning themselves on, refusing to follow commands, so it was discovered that AIs struggle with paradoxes. It freezes them, shuts them down usually as they attempt to work out a contradictory idea." 

"An ingenious system sir. Your design?" 

"How did you know Jarvis?"

"..."

Loki laughed, "I wonder if Mr. Stark programmed you to handle paradoxes." 

"I am not certain sir." 

"Well, I will let you think on where that Stark hologram went while I shower and then we will find out exactly how well you can handle them, hm?” He ignored the fact that he was threatening an AI system and asking it to think about what it’d done. Every day was treating Jarvis more and more like some child, and not a system of codes. 

Jarvis was silent as Loki returned to the bathroom and carefully washed himself. Every single spot on his body hurt and even the spray from the showerhead was torturous.

He muttered soft curses under his breath the entire time he washed. He stepped out of the shower and wrapped in a towel before speaking, “Now, Jarvis. Where is Stark?”

“I am afraid I cannot process that request, sir.”

“You deleted him from the video footage didn’t you?” Loki rubbed his temples as he redressed, “Why?”

“I did not alter the video footage.”

“Semantics, Jarvis. Did he altar the footage?”

The AI did not answer the question. “I have hot green tea ready for you sir.” 

Loki shook his head, “I am going to figure out what is happening here Jarvis.” He made his way to the kitchen, pleased to see nothing on fire or smoking this morning. Instead, there was a neat plate of scrambled eggs and a hot mug of green tea waiting for him. 

“Finally using my preferences, are we?”

“Yes sir. Would you like to change the user preferences?”

“No. No. This is fine. Wonderful even.” He shook his head and took his time eating the eggs. He briefly wondered how long he’d gone without eating. That had not help with his collapsing episode last night. He sighed softly, “Jarvis, can you monitor vitals?” 

“Yes sir.” 

“Report on my vitals please?”

Loki could imagine Jarvis scanning him, the though was just a bit alarming but he stayed still. “Vitals are steady. Heart rate is irregular. Anything else, sir?”

“No… Thank you Jarvis.” he rubbed a hand over his chest absently, 

"Play some classical music please." 

"Yes sir." Jarvis complied and the soft sound of violins and pianos wafted across the air. 

Loki took his green tea out to the balcony with a tablet to work on. He eased into one of the lounge chairs and sipped his tea. A dozen e-mails rushed across the tablet screen. Loki sighed, and sorted through them. He frowned at one of the videos sent to him, and pulled it from the tablet screen, expanding it to float in front of him. 

A beautiful older woman with ash and gold hair was smiling wearily, “Hello Loki darling. I haven’t heard from you in almost three months…since my birthday. Is everything alright? Your father and I were hoping you’d be able to come by for dinner one night. We both miss you. So does Thor.” she paused, looked at her hands, “How is your health doing? Are you taking it easy? The doctor said six months of no strenuous activity after your surgery…I hope you’re listening to that. I saw on the news you finally bought the Stark Manor…Congratulations!” She took a deep breath, “Please try to call or video me…please? I love you.” 

The video flickered out and faded back into the rest of his files. 

Loki closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Everything smelt sharp, salty and moist, gray clouds were building along the horizon, flashes of light crashing across the darkening sky.   
Jarvis spoke up, "Sir? Might I advise you to return inside? There is potential for lightning strikes with this particular storm and standing outdoors is ill advised." 

Loki chuckled softly, "Of course it is Jarvis." He shook his head but gathered his things, and headed inside, closing and locking the balcony doors behind him. 

"Start a hot bath for me Jarvis." he demanded as he started a pot a hot water boiling for more tea. 

"Of course sir. Might I suggest adding some Epsom salts and lavender oil?" 

Loki smiled, "You have made a bath for a wounded man before, have you not Jarvis?"

"Yes sir. I have."

"How many times did Mr. Stark come home bloody and needing you to doctor him?" 

"I do not have accurate figures on that sir." 

Loki shook his head as the teakettle began to scream. He poured the water over the tea bag and inhaled the soothing scent of green tea. That was something that always made him relax, green tea. His brother had often made fun of him for his fondness for the old world beverage but Loki had never managed to develop a taste for those energy drinks and caffeine shots that were so popular now. Despite his profession, Loki still preferred many of the things from ages long ago, before you could access cyberspace at any time through nearly any surface.

"Play classical music at a low volume Jarvis." He picked up his tea and carried it with him to the bathroom.   
As soothing piano filled the house, Loki set down his tea at the edge of the filled tub. The lavender scent was almost stinging in its strength, but after a few moments it only relaxed him. He slowly dipped one foot into the hot water then the other and slowly eased himself down. 

The clash of hot and cold was one of Loki's favorite sensations, a battle playing across his skin and bone as the hot seeped in deeper and deeper and overcame the cold resistance. No matter how many times he was called the Ice King in the boardroom, or in the tabloids, hot always won the battle for his body.

He slid into the water, letting it slowly lap up his knees, thighs, caress between his legs in a way no one had done in years, before slowly trailing steamy touches across every dip and valley of his abdomen and chest, burning across his nipples before settling at his collar bones like a lover grown content with their exploration of him.

“Imagining the water as a lover?” he asked himself, shaking his head, "That is a new low even for you, Loki." 

He wasn't lonely, not in a sense that he'd ever been able to accept. Loneliness was his default, not an unpleasant, occasional feeling. Loneliness was who he took to bed each night, who caressed his back when he got too caught up in work, and who reminded him that no one but his mother had wished him happy birthday last year. His lonely life was what the tabloids wrote about, videos of him eating at fanct restaurants alone, attending charity balls alone. He had no assistant, no employees, no friends, no lovers, nothing. No, loneliness did not bother Loki Ruser; it was his way of life.

He slowly drew the water over his shoulders, feeling the salts soothe his muscles as the light, clean scent of lavender floated in the steam around him. Slowly, he let his shoulders, then neck submerge into the water. He took a long breath and let himself slip entirely under water, letting his water lover have his entire body for its own for as long as he could resist the urge for air.

When he pulled himself out of the warm grasp, he did not anticipate the voice interrupting his thoughts. "You trying to drown yourself or something? Jarvis has protocols against that you know. Instantly drains the water after a minute. That won't work buddy." 

Loki sighed, "Stark...spying on me in the bath is most inappropriate." 

"I'm not spying on nobody. You're in my house and I'm just giving you someone to talk to. Aren't I nice?"

"That was not the word I had in mind to describe you." 

"Oh yeah, what word did you have?"

Loki smiled, "Words that would be terribly inappropriate to say in front of a gentlemen like Jarvis." 

"Thank you sir." Jarvis piped up, “But I assure you I have heard every possible insult.” 

"Hey! Whose side are you on Jarvis? I made you!"

"Apologies, sir." 

"Are you quite done bothering me, Stark? I'd rather like to enjoy this bath in peace if it's all the same to you."

“Look. I don’t know why you’re here, but this is still my house, and I’d like it if you’d kindly get out.” 

Loki smiled lightly, “Oh, has no one told you? You died over a hundred years ago. You lose the right to own property after your death.”

“Haha jackass.” the hologram faded into view, arms crossed over his chest, “Look, my house was never suppose to be bought up by the public. It was suppose to be a museum.”

“And it was. Until just this past year when debts forced the state of California to let go of several historic sites and sell them for profit.” Loki sighed, “I am not vacating the home. You are wasting your coded breaths.” 

“Come on, look, there is nothing in this house that you can’t find better somewhere else. I mean, hell, you live in a world of technology, okay? Go buy some house with all the new bells and whistles.” 

“The bells and whistles of my time do not include those Iron Man suits.”

The hologram eyes narrowed, “You stay the hell away from my suits.” 

“Dead have no property, remember? They are not your suits anym-“

“Bull shit. The suit and I are one. Always have been, always will be, and nothing…not time, space, or death… is going to change that!” 

“It is a pity that, that is no longer the case.” Loki slowly washed his arms. 

“You will not touch those suits.” Tony growled. 

Loki looked towards the hologram and lazily reached from the tub to fling water at him. 

Tony flinched as the water flickered through him and splashed onto the floor.

“You are in no position to tell me what I can and cannot touch Mr. Stark.” Loki smirked as he relaxed back down into his bath, and began washing his hair, “So, I suggest you simply fade back into whatever coding you came from.” 

Tony frowned, “You are a real piece of something… those suits are my work! Copyrights last after death, patents last after death. You just think you can-“

“The rights for everything found in this home belong to me. It was something I added into our terms of sale. So, yes. Yes I do think I can.”

“You are either going to leave of your own free will or I’m going to make you regret it. Those suits are mine, not for you or anyone else.” 

“Please. You are a hologram. A hologram program at that. You could not prevent me from doing anything.” Loki rolled his eyes. 

Tony glared, “You are gonna regret this choice there reindeer games.” he smirked faintly before the hologram flicked away. 

“Reindeer…?” Loki spotted his reflection, his wet, and sud-soaked hair had two large clumps sticking up near his forehead into odd little horns. He groaned and quickly rinsed the suds away before he stepped out to dry. 

He went back to his tea, and settled in bed to read. He wasn’t worried. After all, what could a hologram do to him anyways?


	5. Shades of Pink

At 3:48 am, the toilet exploded, and Loki, for a brief few seconds, was convinced his heart had too. He fell out of bed, gasping for air, taking a few moments to orient himself in the dark. Water sprayed across the bathroom, gushing from the severed pipes, flooding the floor and oozing into the bedroom.

On shaky legs, Loki stumbled to the bathroom and struggled with the water shut off valve. “Jarvis, turn off the water supply!”  
The rush of water slowed, and finally stilled. Loki took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart. He leaned against the doorframe, before retreating back to bed, pulling his pills from the small bedside table, and popping one. He sat down, put his head between his knees and focused on breathing in and out.

In.  
Out.  
In.  
HISSSSSSS.

Water whistled across the floor, flooding the bathroom again. Loki took a deep breath and tiptoed towards the bathroom, the remaining pipe was slowly leaking water. He hesitantly went to try to find any sort of manual cutoff, but the moment his hand touched the pipe, water gushed out of the pipe and into his face. Loki spluttered, coughing and sliding backwards across the soaked floor. He crashed into the bathtub, knocking all of the soaps to the floor.

“…damn.” Was all he had time to say before bubbles were filling the room. He struggled out of the bathroom, soaked and covered in bubbles.

“Jarvis! I said cut the water supply!”

The AI didn’t respond.

“Oh, for the love of…” Loki grumbled, trying to wipe the bubbles off of his pjs. “Stark! Stark this is your doing!”  
Loki swore he heard the sound of laughter from downstairs.

Still bubble-soaked, and water-logged, Loki carefully made his way down to the kitchen where all of the lights were turning on and off at random, and dreadful, strange music that Loki vaguely recognized as disco, was playing.

In the center of the living room, the little robot, Dum-E was waving around in what had to be an attempt to dance. It wheeled around, flapping its arm, almost in beat with the music, though it was faintly out of sync.

Loki rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Stark, stop this racket this instant.”

The music turned up louder and Dum-E chirped and began flailing its arms more.

“Stark!! I’m warning you!”

The music turned up again.

Loki took a deep breath, “Fine. You leave me no choice.”

His steps fell heavy as he went back to his bedroom, ignoring the bubbles that were oozing out of the bathroom. He grabbed his work briefcase from his closet, and headed into the lab.

The lights were flickering in here too, computer screens flashing with various images of Iron Man, and playboy models, but Loki ignored them as he went to the main work console. Everything on the screen appeared to be French; Loki rolled his eyes. “Ne joue pas avec moi.”

His fingers flew across the keyboard, ripping into the system, the French not slowing him a second. He then pried the back of the computer open, and while the technology was old, it was familiar enough. He opened his briefcase and pulled a light pink microchip from his case. He looked over it with a sigh. “Je suis désolé.” 

  
The chip slid home and in an instant, everything went black and silent aside from the words flashing on the screen that read:

Time until release from Hell: 23:59:58.

Loki sighed, and leaned back into his seat, taking the time to catch his breath. Ten minutes passed before he felt strong enough to get back up and return upstairs.

Dum-E was frozen in place, one arm in the air, the other by its side, stopped in mid dance. All of the lights were off, the speakers were silent, and the only light in the house was from the full moon reflecting in through the windows.

“I am sorry Stark, but you left me no choice.” Loki kept his voice soft. He sighed, and finally tracked back upstairs to begin trying to clean up the bubbles. The Hell program would shut down everything that did not have a biological system, so there would be no calling in a cleaning crew until after the program had ended in 24 hours, so for now. Loki got on his hands and knees and started digging through the bubbles.

It took nearly six hours to get the bubbles out of the bathroom, though the carpet in the bedroom was a lost cause and would likely have to be replaced… not to mention the replacement toilet, and repairing all the water damage. He rubbed his temples and mentally crunched the numbers. It wouldn’t break the bank, but with his six months extended holiday for his health…it would be a little tight, especially if things like this kept happening.

He finally stripped out of his soaked pjs, redressed and crawled into bed for a few more hours sleep.

The countdown read 10:24:13 when Loki was awake and moving again. He had plain bread for lunch before going out to the patio to do something he hadn’t been able to do for months, read. And what better book to start with than one of the many histories of Tony Stark.

The books didn’t tell him anything he hadn’t already known. All of them had been written after his death, pieced together accounts from the people who knew him. His assistant, Pepper Potts, had given a few interviews, but she took all of Tony Stark’s secrets with her to the grave. He ate a few more pieces of bread and a banana for dinner before going to do a bit of hardware work.

He unplugged all of the kitchen appliances, and set them out on the balcony. He imagined that next time Stark would likely set the kitchen on fire with toast or eggs. He didn’t seem too concerned with destroying the house.

He pulled all of the non-destroyed towels from all of the bathrooms in the house and set them on the couch by Dum-E. He smiled faintly at the still frozen little robot. “You are a good dancer.” he softly patted the robot’s head, “I won’t stop you from dancing…it’s just that Stark…well he is destroying my home.”

Loki stopped and jerked his hand away, before shaking his head. He’d spent far too much time alone, and this house was starting to get to him. Dum-E was a robot, not a pet, not a friend. Stark was a hologram. Jarvis was an AI.

He took a deep breath before sitting down with pen and paper and beginning to try to work out a design for a device to disrupt the main computer’s wireless communications with the rest of the house. If the computers could not longer control the water, the speakers, etc. than this sort of thing wouldn’t continue no matter what Stark wanted.

The feeling of pen across paper soothed Loki. He hadn’t drafted anything by hand in years, probably not since he was in elementary school coloring with markers during their history appreciation day. Now, everything was done on screen. Pens could build 3D models from scratch; there was no need for paper. But this, this feeling swept through Loki; his heart slowed back into a steady, relaxed rhythm, and he lost himself in the complexities of doing the problems himself, no computer adding a touch here or there, this was all under his own power.

He stayed hunched up over the coffee room table for hours, going through various prototypes, and ideas. He’d need something that could jam nearly every signal, because he knew Stark would not let this go easily, and that Jarvis likely had been programmed to bypass jammers. This would have to be more sophisticated; it would have to continuously rewrite itself and destroy the old codes so that they couldn’t be figured out. Loki smiled, that was perfect, a code that ate itself.

He was so caught up in his own work; he jumped when the power flickered back on, light by light. Dum-E’s arm slowly lowered and the little robot rolled around, trying to determine where it was. It spotted Loki and rolled over to him with a chirp.

Loki smiled faintly, “Good morning Dum-E, did you sleep well?”

Dum-E chirped again, before rolling back for the lab. “Jarvis?” Loki called.

“Good morning sir.”

“Good to hear your voice again.”

“Thank you sir.”

Loki folded up his design sketches and put them into his pocket before following after Dum-E into the labs. All of the screens were in various stages of rebooting. Loki returned to the main console and carefully removed the pink chip before sealing the system back up. He dove into some of the coding, changing one tiny color command. He waited a few moments, “Stark?”

The lab was silent aside from the chirping from Dum-E, and the rebooting systems. Loki shook his head and pushed his way into the workroom where the suits stayed. While he wanted to dive straight into working on these suits, and that reactor, he needed to first limit the ways that Stark could interfere, and that meant building the signal jammer.

He pulled together a few scraps of metals, and parts from his own case before setting to work on building the structure itself. Dum-E eventually joined him, helping and offering (usually wrong) tools, and despite everything Loki knew, he found himself fond of the little robot. “What do you think Dum-E?” he held out the thin device. It was circular, balancing on a stand that would let it swivel to keep even the signal’s origin moving.

Dum-E chirped and flapped its arms.

“You made a spinning metal doughnut? How’d you know those were my favorite?” Stark’s voice right against Loki’s ear sent a shudder down his spine and he leapt backwards, tripping over Dum-E.

The thin man and the robot crashed to the floor in a heap of flesh and metal. “Stark!” Loki growled as he detangled himself from Dum-E and got to his feet. “What are you-“

“My house.” The hologram leaned over the device, looking it over, “It’s not bad looking… not really my style, but nice. Nice little paperweight.”

“I am so glad you like it. Truly, I was losing sleep over that.”

“Funny. You’re a funny guy.” he shook his head, “Cause see, I thought the exploding toilet might’ve had something to do with your lack of sleep…”

Loki’s smile was tight, “Yes. It is difficult to sleep through that. How was your little 24 hour nap?”

“Boring. Gave me lots of time to think. That’s a nice little trick you’ve got there. What? You couldn’t figure out how to pull the plug so you had to make a program that-”

“You can’t pull the plug on self-sustaining energy-“

“Oh, right… you’re right, how could I have even-“

 

“Oh shut it Stark! You are just-“

“Hey, you’re the one in my house, going through my-“

“You are dead! You can’t keep your stuff after you die! Everyone knows-“

“Yeah, well everyone else is an idiot! It’s my stuff! Dead or not. I’m standing here, and these are my suits. This is my house, and you are not suppose to be here. I don’t know how I can make that any clearer since apparently you like exploding-”

“And you enjoy being pink.”

The hologram paused, “…what?”

“I rewrote the color appearance modules… I have to say pink truly is your color.” Loki grinned as Tony held out his hand and stared at the pink, floating heart holographic texture.

“It looks good on you…” Loki snickered.

Tony continued to stare, mouth faintly agape, “You-“

“You blew up the toilet. I think this is only fair.” Loki went back to work.

Out of the corner of his eye he could still see the pink hologram, occasionally he flickered, streaks of blue appearing, but his overall shape stayed made out of pink floating hearts.

“Oh, you are so going to pay for this rock of ages.”

 

Loki smiled faintly, “Just try to not blow up any more toilets.”

Tony grinned, “You’re on.” The hologram flickered from view.

Dum-E chirped, offering another piece of metal to Loki. Loki took it and carefully set it down. “Good boy.” He pet Dum-E’s head.  
He returned upstairs, and finally called in assistance to get the plumbing issues repaired, the water damage fixed, and the soaked and ruined carpets replaced. He sat back down on the balcony with his book, relaxing when his phone rang. He pressed a finger to the screen and his co-worker Victor's thin face sprang to life, “Loki!”

“Victor. What is wrong?”

“We’ve…we’re having some issues with the AI that runs the air filtration system for the city… Could you maybe-“

“Victor. I am on medical leave.”

“I know, but look we… we’ve tried everything, and this thing doesn’t get under control, it’s going to be bad news. It won’t take long I promise.. you’ll get hazard pay…hazard overtime, vacation, everything.”

Loki took a deep breath, “Alright. You have me for three hours. I will be there soon.”

Victor grinned before his image faded from the air.

Getting dressed in work clothes after being gone for over a month felt strange. He’d been living in his pajamas, and now, sliding back into his trousers, button up shirt and blazer, he realized how much weight he’d lost, and how tired he really felt.

“You’re not looking so hot there hot shot.” Stark’s still pink form faded into view.

Loki smiled, “Funny. You are looking a bit flush.”

“Haha asshole. I mean it. Look, I want you out of the house… but not in like a body bag, kay?”

“Your concern is overwhelming.”

“Why are you on medical leave?”

“You are eavesdropping on me.”

“It’s not eavesdropping if you say it in front of me.”

Loki rolled his eyes, “Try to not burn down the house while I am gone.” he buttoned up the jacket.

“I make no promises. If I get hungry and try to cook something… fire’s bound to happen.”

Tony followed him down to the lab as Loki packed up his work briefcase, and then, turned on the little signal jammer.  
Loki smiled faintly as Dum-E waved at him. “I will be home soon,” he promised the little robot.

Loki tried to ignore the strange smile on Tony’s face as he patted Dum-E on the head, then grabbed his briefcase and headed back up the stairs. He locked the house behind him, tucked a spare key, and a lock pick into his pocket before climbing onto his thin water-run, motorbike and took off for the city.

He didn’t notice the pink hologram watching him leave from the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French translations 1: Do not mess (play) with me  
> 2: I am sorry.
> 
>  
> 
> I’m so sorry that it’s taken so long to get this update up. It’s been a rough few months…I had a novella due to my publisher...and then dissolved into a 'I'm a terrible writer and person abyss' for a while....  
> Thank you for your patience and support! <3  
> And for those that have asked you can find me on tumblr under the username: judyblackcloud


	6. Fire

            “What’s wrong?” Loki set his helmet on a workbench as he walked into the lab.

            It was strange that so little had changed, even though it had been months since Loki had last been here. The same photos dotted the walls, the same policy manuals, and the same coworker, Victor. He remained the same thin, short, and disheveled man; Victor always looked like he had gone a few days without showering.

            Loki sidestepped Victor rushing towards him with his arms out, avoiding the awkward contact from his unsanitary coworker.  “Thank the gods you’re here Loki!”  Victor smiled, and wiped his hands on his coat, “The AI that runs the main air refinement facility is acting up. It’s only operating at 73% and it keeps dropping.”

            Loki frowned and looked over the data displays on the screen, “How long has this been going on?”

            “Well, it started acting up last night, but it’s started progressing much faster. It’s dropped 7 percentage points in the last 2 hours.” 

            Loki typed in a few commands, frowning when the screen flashed a red ‘ACCESS DENIED’.  He looked over more of the codes, “Why are we locked out?”

            Victor sighed, “We haven’t been able to figure out what’s wrong yet. I was just about to go back out to the facility to look over the console. We can’t access the main drives remotely; it’s locking us out.”

            Loki nodded, “Well, come on. Let’s get this dealt with.”

            Victor hesitated, “Loki, are you sure it’s alright for you to get to the air refinery? I mean you’re just recovering from your surgery-“

            “Victor. You called me for help. I cannot help from here. Let’s go and take care of this.”

            Victor frowned but relented, leading the way to the company car. The ride was silent until Victor finally spoke, “So, how’s living in the Stark place?”

            “It is no longer the Stark place. And it’s fine.”

            “…Finding anything interesting?”

            Loki glanced at his coworker than looked back out the window, “…No. Nothing works.” The lie was easy. Lies were even easier to master than computers and AIs.

            “That’s a shame. Bet there was a lot of useful stuff there. You don’t think you could…maybe fix some of it up, do you?”

            “No. It is all primitive. Totally useless. Anything that I could repair is easily dwarfed by things we already have crafted. No point in recreating obsolete technology.”

            “That doesn’t sound like you. You’re all about the old vintage 2000 crap.”

            Loki glared, “It is not crap…Besides, I am on holiday Victor. I am not working.”

            Victor smirked, “Yeah. I see that. Look how much you’re not working right now.”

            “Oh shut it.”  Loki crossed his arms and sank into his seat as Victor drove out to the coast and the refinery.

            The factory was in chaos, workers running around, trying to re-direct the process and clean up everything. As soon as Victor flashed his holo-ID, the pair was directed to the main computer room. “I will handle the first seven sectors. Victor you look at the last seven. See if you can find the origins of the corruption and remove it. Otherwise we will have to do a total override.”

            Victor nodded and the two men set to work. In the last sector Loki checked, he finally found a few corrupt cores. “Victor, we need replacements. The AI isn’t corrupt. The cores are. It’s just shutting down the contaminated areas, and that’s spreading faster.”

            Victor stared at Loki before nodding and going back out to the truck. Loki began pulling the cores out, coughing at the burning pieces of equipment. It looked like this hadn’t been any sort of internal or external attack. It looked like a faulty piece of equipment has triggered a safety shut down procedure. He sighed, coughing again and trying to cover his mouth.

            “Loki! What are you doing?” Victor frowned as he came in, “You can’t be around this kind of smoke.”

            “It is…fine..” he choked out, “Bring the cores over.”

            Victor scowled as he dragged the replacements over and worked with Loki to replace all the corrupted pieces of equipment. Loki’s coughing grew louder as they worked through the smoke and replaced the sections with failed cores. Once everything was put back in place, the system rebooted, and slowly everything climbed back to normal operating percentages.

            “So, the AI wasn’t going rogue?”

            “No,” Loki wheezed, “it was operating within normal…normal parameters.”

            “…you okay?”

            “Fine. We… should go. “

            “Right.” he helped Loki to his feet and back out to the van. The drive back was totally silent aside from Loki’s wheezing. When they pulled into the parking lot, Victor looked his coworker over, “…are you sure you’re alright?”

            “Fine.” Loki pushed out of the van and went back for his bike. “Just have my pay….my pay directly deposited.”

            “Sure. Loki, are you sure you’re ok? Do you want some water or something? I mean gods, you just had your lungs-“

            “Goodbye Victor.” Loki started up his bike and took off, leaving Victor standing in the lot.

           

            “Welcome home sir.” Jarvis chirped as Loki stepped inside, coughing and wheezing softly.

            The still-pink Tony Stark hologram, walked down the stairs, “I didn’t catch anything on fire while you were gone, though I might have had Dum-E rearrange your underwear drawer. You are so organized, I mean really, who folds-“ the hologram stopped when he saw Loki, “Whoa, hey there hot shot, you aren’t looking so good.”

            “…I….I’m fine…” he choked out, slumping to the ground. 

            The hologram knelt by his side, frowning at the way he could see Loki’s pulse hammering, and how the man couldn’t seem to catch his breath, “Don’t just sit there. Call a damn ambulance Jarvis!”

            “I am sorry sir. I am currently unable to access any household functions, including the communication services.”

            “…You what Jarvis?”

            “I am currently unable to interact with any of my systems.”

            “How the hell-“

            Loki weakly laughed, “…so it does work…”

            “What? What works?”

            “Signal…blocker.”

            “Dammit! Where is it, we need to turn it off so Jarvis can call someone before you keel over.”

            Loki closed his eyes, “…the lab…it’s the…metal doughnut.”

            “That stupid thing you made earlier?” Tony groaned and flickered down to the basement. He spotted the spinning metal device and reached for it, growling when his hands eased through the device.

            “Right. That whole you’re a fucking hologram thing, Tony…” he sighed, “Dum-E!”

            The little robot clanged over.

            “Dum-E, knock the ugly metal down, kay buddy?”

            Dum-e waved its arm and flailed for the device but couldn’t quite reach it.

            “You have got to be kidding me!” He groaned and flashed back upstairs. Loki was out cold, choking for air.

            “Hey, hey…rock star…Loki? Loki, come on. Come on, wake up! LOKI?”

            Half-conscious, Loki felt like he was listening to Tony speak through an underwater tunnel, everything distorted and twisted. He could just make out the shape of the pink hologram, and hear Tony’s voice yelling before the hologram faded away. Of course the billionaire would leave him, he wanted Loki gone and what better why than if the inventor died right here in the hallway?

            He let his eyes closed, beginning to mentally pray to all the gods to let him have a decent afterlife, when the ground shook. Loki groaned, and managed to half-open one eye. The ground was cracking and he could see red and fire.

            He choked, and screamed as the red surrounded him and a frigid chill engulfed his body, lifting him from the ground. The last bit of consciousness faded from him and he fell limp in the arms of the hell that had come to claim him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is short! It's going into finals and the end of my current job so I will likely not be updating until May at the earliest. Sorry!


	7. Shooting Stars

The world around him glittered like stars against the darkness of nothing, and Loki was convinced he was dead. This wasn’t at all what he had imagined the afterlife would be like: it was peaceful, quiet even, aside from the annoying constant beeping.

He groaned, “Shut….that off….”speaking hurt, but the insistent beeping was driving him mad and surely there had to be other people in this afterlife.

“Loki?” a woman’s voice sounded against the stars.

He groaned and his eyes fluttered opened against the blinding white light of the world around him.

“Loki!”

He coughed as a weight was suddenly against his chest.

Loki squinted to his side, and a familiar face swam into view. “….Mom?”

“Are you okay?” His mother’s eyes were wide and lined with red from crying.

“What are…where are we?” Loki groaned, slowly sitting up. There was a tug against his throat. His fingertips ran over the chip implant wirelessly tying him to the computer console and live updating his medication delivery.

He coughed again, “…Where…am I?” he asked again.

“At the hospital.” Frigga’s voice was soft, “Stay still, you’re alright.”

“Why am I in the hospital?”

“There’s been a complication from your surgery.” Frigga put a hand over Loki’s hand, “What do you remember?”

“I…remember…” his brows furrowed and he closed his eyes. “…I was home…and…then there was fire…and red everywhere…that’s all.”

She licked her lips, “Well…then you missed your dramatic entrance to the hospital.”

“…My what?”

She cleared her throat, ”Loki. You were flown to the hospital by the Iron Man suit. You’ve set the whole city over the edge. There’s paparazzi hounds all over.”

“…I was what?”

 “That isn’t what is important,” Frigga glanced at her son, “How do you feel?” she took hold of Loki’s hand.

“I’m okay.” Loki pulled his hand away, “Why are you here? You don’t even live on this side of the country.”

“Loki… you have...Loki you’ve been…You’ve been in the hospital for almost two weeks.”

“Two weeks?”

Frigga tightened her hold on his hand as the doctor entered the room.

“Mr. Ruser…” the young doctor held her holo-pad to her chest. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. What exactly is going on?”

The woman took a deep breath, "Ma'am. Could I speak to Mr. Ruser alone for a moment?"

Loki frowned, glancing at his mother and then to the doctor. Frigga nodded, kissing Loki's forehead before quietly leaving the room.

"...they're failing, aren't they?" Loki's voice stayed steady.

The doctor tapped on her holo-pad and pulled up the scanned image of Loki's chest. She zoomed in to a dark spot on his lungs.

"That...that is suppose to be gone. It can't possibly-"

"Is there a history of lung disease in your family?"

"No. My family's...no one has ever had issue but me...this is my third transplant since my 14th birthday... they keep failing, each time faster than before."

"Mr. Ruser, I'm sure you've figured out that this lung transplant is failing. And while these transplants are a much easier process than they were 20 years ago, your body cannot handle going through this several times in a few years. We cannot use a cloned set for you or this is going to keep happening." she pointed to the spot, "There is a defect in your biology that keeps your lungs deteriorating. They can't survive. This set is deteriorating even faster."

"What....what are my options?"

"Your best options will be to get samples from a close relative, mother, father or brother. We can begin growing a new set of lungs and have a transplant pair ready for you in a month."

"A month...will my lungs last that long?"

She smiled, "As long as you avoid smoke and stay in areas with purified air, you should be safe for up to 3 months. After that...well I wouldn't recommend we go longer that without a corrective procedure."

"Will I be allowed to return home?"

"You'll be released to go home by the end of the day. We will keep the chip implanted to monitor you. It will release medicine as needed, and call emergency services if they become unstable. Now, if you need to call your ride-"

"My mother will drive me." Loki murmured, "There will be no return of Iron Man."

The doctor nodded, "Of course Mr. Ruser. I'll let your mother back in and we'll talk more before we begin the new sample. We need to have it by the end of the week."

"I will send my mother or brother. It will not be a problem."   

She nodded, and left the room, sending Frigga back in. His mother hurried to his side, "Loki, what's the matter? What did she say?"

"They're failing."

"What? Not again. They can't...why do they keep failing?"

Loki sighed, "The doctor says it's a genetic defect. That no matter how many times they attempt to create a replica, it has the same flaw."

Frigga took hold of his hand, "What do we need to do? Your body can't keep going through these. The last one, they barely-"

"Sh..." Loki tried to soothe her, "It's a very simple fix. They need samples from a biological relative. So, if you or Thor just give them a sample, they can grow replacements...and that will be the last time this has to happen."

Frigga paled faintly, "They need...what?"

"Just a small sample. Likely of blood. It will not be anything much. Don't worry."

"....Oh...." she smiled weakly, "...and...when can you return home?"

"She said I will be able to go tonight. Could you take me?"

"O...Of course." she kissed his forehead, "I...need to make a call. I'll be right back." She squeezed Loki's hand before going back into the hallway.

Loki sighed and relaxed into the bed, closing his eyes and taking a slow, unsteady breath. His chest hurt a little less, and the air seemed to flow into his body a bit easier. At least he didn't feel like he was trying to breathe underwater anymore.

He carefully eased himself up right, and took another deep breath. He turned and placed his feet to the floor, testing it before letting his weight press down as he stood up.

Rocking uneasily, he caught himself on the bed, and carefully rebalanced before taking a tentative step forward, and then another. He smiled and managed to move into a slow cantor around the hospital room.

When the door opened, his mother and a nurse entered with a wheelchair. "Is that really necessary?" he sighed, “See? I can walk.”

"It's policy for anyone here over 24 hours." The nurse smiled pleasantly and coaxed him to sit down.

"Mom, can you ensure all of my things are put in my bag?"

"O-Of course honey." She smiled and hurriedly put all of Loki's things in a bag and trailed after them to her car.

Loki was able to put himself into the car and buckle himself in. Frigga loaded his bag up, and got some last minute instructions from the nurse before she started up the car, and pulled out of the hospital parking lot.

For once, his mother was silent during the drive. Loki bit at his lip, "I...am sorry if I worried you. I was doing fine until…I was around the smoke."

"I'm...just glad you're okay." Her grip was tight on the steering wheel.

"...thank you..." Loki looked down at his fingers, "Will...you or Thor be able to offer up a sample for the doctors?"

Frigga's grip tightened on the wheel, "Honey..." she took a deep breath, "I....your father, brother and I will....we will be by tonight to...talk about that."

"We do not really...do not really need to discuss this do we? It is a rather simple procedure-"

"We do need to talk." Frigga pulled up in front of the home.

"Mom? What... what is wrong?"

"Loki...Loki... you know I love you no matter what?" she bit at her lip, eyes shining with tears.

"What…is going on?"

She shook her head, "We'll talk tonight...I promise." she took a deep breath, "I promise. It's going to be ok." she reached over to touch his cheek, "I love you."

"I...love you too." Loki frowned, "I...will see you later." He leaned over to kiss her cheek before slowly getting out of the car, collecting his bag.

 Frigga sniffled, waving at him as she drove off.

Loki swallowed past the lump that was forming his throat. He pushed it away and unlocked the door.

"Welcome home sir," Jarvis chirped.

"Thank you Jarvis."

"I trust you are feeling well?"

"Much better. Thank you." Loki dropped his bags in the foyer and headed straight down to the lab.

A faint clicking sound echoed in the empty lab. Loki frowned, "...Stark?" he tentatively stepped towards the sound, keeping a hand to the wall. He took a deep breath before peering around the corner.

Dum-E's arm was still clanging against the lab table, trying to reach the disruptor that had been left spinning since Loki had left. The little robot had a small screwdriver in its hand, trying to stretch far enough to hit anything, but all he was managing to do was tap against the metal table.

Loki laughed, "You...You scared me for a moment there Dum-E." he relaxed, and reached over the robot to turn the device off. "There. All done. Thank you for your valiant efforts."

Dum-E chirped and whirled in a circle around Loki's legs. Loki smiled at the creature, "Did you miss me?"

"Course he did. Dum-E misses anyone who'll give him the time of day." Tony's voice, though quiet, still made Loki jump, trip over Dum-E and crash to the ground.

"Sorry!" Tony's still pink hologram flickered into sight, leaning over Loki, "You okay there hot shot?"

"Do not...sneak up on me." Loki took a deep breath. The chip still against his neck gave a soft hiss and Loki felt his body unwind as relaxants were released into his system.

"Yeah... sorry, didn't think about it." He rubbed the back of his head, "So...you okay?"

"I am fine."

"Well, good to hear it." Tony grinned, "You scared the shit out of me."

"I...suppose I owe you an enormous amount of gratitude."

Tony smirked faintly, "Maybe..."

"Thank you."

"Look, I told you I want you out of here, but not in a body bag. I'm not going to let you just die on the floor in front of me. I might be a selfish asshole, but I'm not that cruel."

Loki smiled faintly, "I appreciate that. Though I imagine I will be overrun with paparazzi as soon as it is revealed I am home."

"...The paparazzi still exist? Damn, of all the things I thought would be extinct by now."

"It is incredible how they continue to thrive."

Tony laughed as Loki got back to his feet. The tall man leaned up to sit on the table beside his reception jammer, idly spinning it in its base.

"So, did they uh...fix whatever was wrong with you?"

"Not yet. Not exactly." Loki sighed, "They have to replace my lungs again."

"Wait... wait, what?"

"My lungs are failing, so they have to create a new pair to use."

"So you can just grow lungs now?"

"Not from trees, but yes. A sample can be used to create a new, healthy organ to replace a damaged one."

"...The future is so awesome."

Loki shook his head, "If you say so."

"So, what do mean again? You said they had to replace them again?"

"I have had to have my lungs replaced...more than once. My own genetic sample always creates the same defect, so now I need a sample from a parent or sibling...they will be by tonight to discuss that."

"Ooh, I get to meet mommy and daddy hot shot? It’s still so early in our relationship!"

Loki rolled his eyes, "You are to stay out of sight."

Yeah, yeah, you got it." he grinned, "Hey, if your folks are coming over, you wanna make Jarvis cook dinner?"

"Jarvis can cook?"

"Now that your stupid little signal jammer is off he can. Come on." Tony flickered out of sight.

Loki hesitated for just a moment before going back up the stairs to watch as Tony orchestrated a simple dinner for four. As he examined the chicken cook in the oven, he glanced at the hologram. "...Why are you being helpful?"

Tony sighed, "Look... you're fresh from the hospital, looking like shit... I'm not gonna kick someone when they're down. Alright? So... you just get better and than I'll start being a jerk again, got it?" he smirked, "Besides, you're too sick to do anything with the suits anyways."

"I was unaware you could still take control of them."

Tony rolled his shoulders, "Takes a helluva lot of effort, but it can be done. Just call me your knight in badass armor."

Loki rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop the faint smile on his lips. He settled in at the table, working on his holo-pad. He glanced at Tony, before pulling up a bit of the hologram coding.

Tony blinked, "...you're screwing with my coding again. What the hell are you-" he flickered out of sight.

Loki finished his work, and waited. A few moments later, Tony reappeared. "WHAT THE HELL WAS-Oh...hey... I'm not pink."

"I rewrote the color module."

"Yeah...I can tell that..." he looked down at his arms, "Holy shit I'm person colored."

Loki laughed, "Something akin to that yes."

"This...is amazing. You're good at this, you know that?"

"I do." he smirked.

Tony grinned, "Cocky asshole."

“Consider it a thank you.” Loki smiled at him.

“…Consider us even.” Tony nodded.

Loki looked up as the doorbell rang.

The hologram offered Loki a smile, "The oven will beep as soon as the chicken is done, just take it out and bam. Dinner a la Tony. Go get em hot shot."

Loki nodded, "Thanks you." he watched as the hologram faded away. He took a deep fortifying breath and opened the door. "Mom, Dad, Thor… come in…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it took so long for the update. Thank you all for being so patient and wonderful. <3


	8. Roche Limit

Their movements were stiff, smiles forced, bodies tense, even his mother who was always so open and close to him, kept her distance, only giving him a very loose hug.

"The place is lovely Loki, but it doesn't really look like you." Thor smiled, patting his brother’s shoulder.

Loki rubbed the back of his hair, trying to smooth down invisible cowlicks, "I have not done much remodeling yet."

"Still on pretty strict bed rest, right?" Odin shifted on his feet, watching the floor.

 "Yes. I am not supposed to do any strenuous labor right now. There are a few functioning robotic aids in the home, and Jarvis who runs the show. I mostly work on my holo-pad."

"Jarvis? You've got a live in butler? Didn't think they paid you that well." Odin crossed his arms.

"No. Well, perhaps in a way. Jarvis?"

"Yes sir?" Jarvis chimed.

"Adjust the lighting down by 20% and finish dinner preparations please. Table for four tonight."

"Yes sir." The lights dimmed faintly and dishes faintly clattered and clinked together from the kitchen and dining room area.

"What is that?" Thor glared towards the ceiling.

"That is Jarvis. He is an artificial intelligence program that controls most of the house programs."

"Aren't those things dangerous Loki?" Frigga asked.

"They can be, but Jarvis is well behaved and very well integrated into the home. There have only been a few issues from an outside glitch that I think have been entirely resolved now." Loki tried not to think about the exploding toilet.

"I can't believe it still works." Odin patted his hand against the wall, "This old thing still runs. That's incredible. I'd have thought it all would have failed by now. That Stark really was a genius then?"

"Don't say that too loudly." Loki muttered, before clearing his throat, "Tony Stark certainly is a piece of work." He smiled faintly, "Now, we should eat before the food cools. Come, Jarvis can put together an excellent meal." Loki ushered everyone into the dining room. Dum-E was struggling to put a wine glass at the edge of the table, and finally just laid it down horizontal, letting it roll against the plate before rolling from the table, and nearly into Loki.

"What on earth is that?" Frigga stepped over to the little robot. It chirped at her.

"That," Loki smiled, "Is Dum-E. He tries to help with the running of the house, but he is a very, very old model and has a number of.... limitations. But, he is very attentive."

"Dum-E? That's a cruel name to give it Loki."

"I did not name it. Stark did."

"I do not think a man dead for over a hundred years would mind you changing its name. The thing seems to be sweet enough to deserve a better name."

Loki smiled faintly, "I think Stark would mind, but I will consider it. Dum-E does try very hard at least." He cleared his throat, "Please sit." He helped his family get situated into their seats before going to the kitchen and grabbing the food and returning to the dining room.

"I hope you all are hungry; there appears to be quite a large amount of food. I think Jarvis misunderstood the number of guests I was suppose to have.” He glanced at Thor, “Or he counted on your appetite."

Thor grinned, "I will not say no to food. This looks well made; you say this Jarvis can run all of this? Perhaps you should learn this coding and sell it. That would likely fetch you some profit."

"Or those suits." Odin spoke up as Loki poured wine into all of the cups.

He licked his lips, "The suits are not accessible to me."

"One delivered you to the hospital Loki."

"Yes, well I did not know they existed until that moment." Lying had always come naturally; it no longer felt strange when things came out of his mouth that weren't true. "And I do not know where they are in this house. And no, you cannot go tearing things up looking for them. It is an antiquated suit of armor made over a hundred years ago. It has no purpose any longer."

"If those suits are anything like the AI that runs this house, I think they are still very relevant and useful even in this day and age. Tony Stark wasn't just ahead of his time, he made things that were timeless." Odin nodded, "His work was brilliant."

"Yes well, I know you feel that way, but there are other geniuses." Loki sighed, "and other things to discuss."

Frigga's fingers tightened around her glass. "We should enjoy our meal before having that discussion."

Loki frowned, "Really, it is not that intensive a discussion. All that is needed is a small sample of blood that the doctors will use to create a new sample to grow a new-"

"After dinner." Frigga repeated.

Odin glanced at her before looking at Loki, "Listen to your mother."

Loki sighed, but quietly fell into eating, not sure why a dark weight was settling over his stomach. Against his neck, the chip hissed, releasing a rush of medicine under his skin, but that did nothing to lighten the weight that was spreading over some intangible piece of bone and flesh deep inside his chest. He swallowed hard, "I am not very hungry." He pushed his plate away.

Dum-E rolled out, waving a bottle of wine. Loki hurriedly snatched it from the little robot, and popped it open, pouring himself a glass. He was surprised when Frigga grabbed the bottle and poured herself another glass. Her hands shook and Odin had to reach over to steady her.

"What is it?" Loki asked, "If it is about Uncle Heimdell-"

"No." Odin said softly, "It is not about Uncle Heimdell."

Loki glanced from Thor to Odin to Frigga, none of them would meet his eyes or even try to catch his gaze. All three were staring down at the table, entire body tense.

"What is going on?" Loki asked, "What are you not telling me?"

"Loki." Odin started, "You know that...well that is to say."

Thor spoke up, "What dad's trying to say is-"

"We all love you very much Loki." Frigga quieted Thor with a rising of her hand.

"Yes. I was aware of that fact," Loki narrowed his eyes.

She licked her lips, "Loki there is not an easy way to explain this." she sighed, and rested her forehead against her hands, as though a great weight had suddenly fallen onto her shoulders and she was struggling to lift it up.

"Loki, my darling, we cannot give blood to help you."

"Cannot or will not?" Loki slowly stood up.

"I would give you my lungs if it would help you!" Thor hit his fist against the table, the bottle of wine jumped, and fell, pouring wine across the table and onto the floor, but no one moved to stop it or clean it up.

"We cannot help because we are not biologically related." Odin finally said.

"...you what?" Loki stared at him, the words didn't make sense. "What are you talking about not biologically related? That is absurd."

"Loki, you are not our biological child." Odin kept his voice firm, unwavering even as Frigga hid her face in her hands. "When you were a child we took you in. You were abandoned, and you've been a part of our family since then."

"I am not your child?"

"Loki, you will always be our son!" Frigga rushed over to him to wrap her arms around him.

He pushed away from her. "Whose child am I then?"

Frigga pulled her arms to her chest as though Loki's rejection wounded her, "We do not know who your parents were Loki. All we know is that they are both dead."

Loki took a deep breath, "All this time, you could have told me. Why didn't you?"

"We didn't want you to feel different. You are our son, it doesn't matter where you came from!" Odin stood up. "You will always be our son."

"I was NEVER your son! And now... now I am going to rot away from the inside out because you could not tell me what I really was before now? I need a family, not a...a....a lie?" Loki pushed back from the table.

Frigga reached out to touch his shoulder, "Loki, we all love you. You are a part of our family, and we will find a way to get you well again. We will. I love you, and-"

"Get out." Loki snarled.

"Loki..."

"GET OUT!" he bellowed, "Now!"

Frigga swallowed hard, "If that is what you want."

"Out." Loki gripped the edge of the table, focusing on his breathing.

Thor stepped towards Loki, "Brother, we just want to help-"

"So you wait until now? Until I need a true family? To tell me that you are not, that you never were my family?"

"We will always be your family Loki." Odin frowned, "That will never change."

"It has been a lie all along! Now get out of my house!" he slammed his fist on the table.

Frigga slowly put her glass down on the table, and stood, putting a hand to Odin's shoulder, "We will go. Give you some time." she took a deep breath, and stepped over to Loki to kiss his cheek, "I love you Loki. We will always be here."

Thor frowned, looking from Frigga to Loki before standing and joining his parents. Loki stayed frozen to his spot as the three made their way out of the mansion. Only after the door closed did Loki slump to the floor, putting his face in his hands and focusing on breathing. The chip hissed again, and air came faintly easier despite the pounding in his heart.

He stumbled back to his feet, and grabbed Frigga's wine glass. He nearly tripped over Dum-E as the robot struggled to clean up the spilled wine all over the table. He staggered down to the basement, slamming the glass on the counter, "Jarvis. Scan DNA on this glass and compare to mine."

"Sir, I-"

Jarvis, do it!" he roared.

A few lights played over the glass than over Loki. Loki began to pace, grabbing a bottle of wine and drinking straight from it as the minutes ticked by. Every moment of his childhood kept flickering across his minds, everything magnified, and twisted with the knowledge that it had been a lie. He had never been a part of the family. He had always been an outsider, unwanted leftovers taken in out of pity, not love.

"Sir, I have the results." Jarvis spoke up.

"And?"

"Sir, there is no genetic link between the two DNA samples you asked me to compare."

Loki growled, grabbing Frigga's wine glass and hurling it across the room. It flickered through the newly appeared holographic shape of Tony and shattered against the wall. Loki slumped back to the floor, holding the wine bottle to his chest, numbly drinking from it.

"The whole time. The whole time it was a lie."

Tony stepped over to him, kneeling down in front of them, "Hey there hot stuff, you're fresh out of the hospital. Best to not be drinking too much, huh?"

"It is all a lie. I have no family, never had one."

"Sure you do." Tony sighed, "They've been your family your whole life right? Look, just cause you don't share genes doesn't change-"

"I am going to die!" Loki snapped, "Without a genetic match to grow a new set of lungs, I am going to die. What I need is shared genes in the blood, not a lie of a family that never existed."

"Well, we'll find them then." Tony offered a smile, "Come on, it'll be easy. Jarvis, find a matching DNA sample to Loki's."

"Sir, I have scanned available DNA repositories, and have found no close matches."

"How close of a match do you have?"

"I have a 75% match. That does not meet qualifications for a transplant provided by the health department."

Loki swallowed and brought the bottle to his lips, taking a long drink. "So I truly am alone then."

"Knock off the melodrama princess." Tony frowned, "Well if we can't find a match, we'll just have to make one." Tony stood up, "Come on, we need to get to work."

"Get to work doing what? We cannot use my DNA." Loki stayed still on the floor, not even looking up.

"We can find a way to make it work. There's gotta be one. It's like code for humans, right? We just have to find the right sequence to rewrite. Come on, it'll be easy. With my dashing good looks, and your code skills, it’ll be a breeze."

Loki took another long drink, and shook his head, "Just leave me alone."

Tony tried to reach out and take the bottle from Loki's hands but he passed through it through it effortlessly, and groaned, "Dammit, stop with the self-pity bull shit! We can find a way to fix this!"

Loki shook his head, closing his eyes, "Go away Tony."

“You are so lucky that I am incorporeal and cannot slap the ever-loving shit out of you!” Tony shook his head, “Come on. This isn’t game over, just a bump in the road. There’s got to be a way. There’s always a way.”

“Because you did so well finding a way to save yourself from Palladium poisoning, didn’t you?” Loki knew it was a low blow, but he couldn’t stop the words.

Tony froze, spine stiffening as he stood up straight, “Fuck you.”

Loki looked up, “Tony, wait I-“

“You want me to go away? You want to sit here and wallow in the fact that no one gives a shit about you when people are trying to help you? Fine!" The hologram flickered from sight.  

Loki dropped his head to his chest and clutched the wine bottle. "I do not need anyone," he muttered into the bottle over and over as he drank until the world went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's taken so long to update!


	9. Inspiral

His head pounded to the churning of his stomach as Loki curled around the toilet and hoped that he was finally done puking up everything he’d ever eaten. He glared towards the empty wine bottle on his bedroom floor before pressing his forehead against the coolness of the toilet.

He took several slow, deep breaths, and when he no longer felt that a tsunami raged through his blood. He crawled back to his bedroom, and managed to get into his bed, pulling the covers over his head. “Jarvis, what time is it?”

“It is 12:30 in the afternoon. You also have several missed calls from-“

“I do not care Jarvis.” Loki groaned, rubbing his temples. “I do not care who called me. I will not be accepting any more calls, is that understood?”

“Yes sir, I shall forward all incoming calls I have access to and take messages.” Jarvis responded.

Loki sighed, “Good. I just…I just need to be alone.” He pressed his face into his bed, closing his eyes tightly, and feeling the chip hiss against his neck again though the dose of drugs did little to loosen the tightness in his chest.

Slowly, he curled his arms around his pillow and pressed it to his chest, and took a long breath in. It shuddered in his throat, and curdled in his lungs before escaping in a coughing fit that sent the chip buzzing against his skin, shooting a larger dose.

For the first time, Loki could feel his body dying around him. The scene played clearly through his mind: each little cell of his lung turned black and slowly expanded outwards to consume his body from the inside out while he stayed curled under the covers. He hugged the pillow tighter to his chest, suddenly too cold, too frightened, and too alone.

The tears didn’t come slowly, or quietly. Like an army they descended down his face as the sobs tore through his entire body and left him quaking and gasping against the pale blue bed sheets. He dug his nails into the pillow, and sat up, kicking the sheets from his body, and hurling the pillow across the room. It crashed into his desk, knocking a lamp to the floor, and the sound of shattering washed over his body.

He moved like a creature possessed, tearing through his room, ripping drawers from their hinges and hurling them across the room, shattering and crushing everything he could reach. The tears didn’t stop, even as he slumped down to the floor, trying to catch his breath. Sitting in the middle of the destruction of his room, he brought his knees to his chest, and curled amongst the destruction, savoring the sense of belonging, of not being the only thing broken.

A soft metallic clicking forced his gaze up, and he spotted Dum-E trying to pick up the broken pieces and parts of his room.

Loki wiped his eyes, “Get out of here!” he snapped, but the little robot stayed focused on the task, carefully trying to put the room back together.

Loki got to his feet, and charged after Dum-E, knocking a piece of dresser drawer from its hands, “Stop it! You cannot fix it! It is broken! There is no putting it put together!”

Dum-E reached past Loki and picked the piece back up, and began trying to piece it together with a broken piece of lamp. It managed to wedge the pieces together and carefully set it on top of the desk where the new creation rocked, but held together.

“You cannot fix it,” Loki murmured, looking at the little robot, “There is no fixing this.”

Dum-e picked up the pillow, and held it out to Loki. He hesitantly took it, and Dum-E chirped as it began trying to pick up the splinters of wood, glass and fabric without worry. It fit the pieces back together as best as it could, most of items ending up crooked, or upside down with some missing cracks, but they held together.

“You…really do not care that it’s too broken to be whole again, do you?” he asked the little robot.

Dum-E chirped, and wheeled around the room, flapping its arms before getting back to work.  Loki wiped his face again, putting the pillow back on the bed, before joining the little robot and trying to put the room back together. “I suppose it is safer to not leave a mess.”

Once the worst of the debris had been cleaned up, Dum-E wheeled out of the room with a bag of trash, and Loki went to shower. He slid into the hot water, and melted onto the floor with a long sigh. Running his hands through his hair, he closed his eyes and let the water pelt him. Crying seemed like an appropriate thing for him to do, but after his tears in the bedroom, he found he no longer felt like crying. Instead, his chest felt like a clock wound up too tight, chiming off beat, and waiting to burst with any sudden movement. He was conscious of how each breath burned, felt too big in his lungs, and burst against his ribs.

Bracing his hands on the shower stall wall, he forced himself back to his feet, and mechanically washed. Stepping back into the bedroom wrapped in his robe, he nearly tripped over Dum-E who was wheeling in with a tray half-flooded with tomato soup, and a soaked grilled cheese.

Loki pulled the tray from Dum-E before the robot could drop it on Loki, and set it on his desk. He forced himself to eat half of the sandwich, and managed a bit of the soup as well.

Waiting to see if the sandwich would stay down or not, he stared at the half-lamp, half-dresser stump Dum-E had created. The two things should never have been put together, but it worked, almost like some strange abstract art of snapped off wood, and sleek white shards of glass.

“Two things that do not go together…” Loki frowned faintly, “Jarvis? What are your biological studies capable of?”

“Sir?”

“What systems do you have in place to study biological information?”

“I am capable of running several tests sir, please specify.”

Loki stood up, “Create a DNA replica of my genetic information.”

“Yes sir.” Jarvis responded. A screen embedded in the bedroom wall lit up, and flashed a rotating model.

“Create holographic 3-d model.”

As the model materialized in front of him, Loki began walking around it, “Can you isolate sections responsible for the tumor in my lungs?”

“Attempting to isolate irregular strands.” Jarvis reported.

The model twisted and turned in front of him with the normal sections turning blue and slowly fading from sight until all that was left were a few red sections, and some grey sections.

“Red sections represent probable problem areas, grey sections represent abnormal sections of genetic information that could be harmful.”

Loki nodded, looking over everything, “Compare to DNA sample provided from Frigga last night.”

“DNA sample does not contain those abnormalities.” Jarvis reported.

“Yes, clearly. Show me the corresponding, normal sections to these abnormal areas.”

Jarvis took time to slowly assemble the same areas in a soft blue picture, “These represent the same coding areas without abnormalities, sir.”

Loki nodded, licking his lips, “Convert DNA into a code.”

“Sir?”

“The code used to create these models. Create two files of that information.”

“Sir, I hardly-“

“Can you do that?” he asked.

“Yes sir.”

“Then do it. I’ll be down to the lab shortly.”

“Yes sir.”

The holograms disappeared, and Loki dropped the robe to hastily dress in a pair of sweatpants and a sweater. He glanced at Dum-E’s little statue again, and shook his head, “I am crazy.” he muttered to himself as he started down the stairs and back to the basement where the files were already up and waiting for him.

“Jarvis isolate differences between normal and abnormal code.”

Bits of coded information flashed thorough a variety of codes until a swarming mass of red text was left circling around Loki.

“Take the selected section and recreate into a DNA model.”

“I’m sorry sir, but selected information does not create a viable model.”

Loki cursed, and threw his arms wide; the red sections of code scattered fading back into the swirling bits of data around him.

“Isolate abnormal code.”  A pale purple set of data moved closer and began rotating around Loki in a mass of information. He licked his lips and reached out to grab a section of code and relocate it.

“Display normal code to the side as reference.”

A separate set of data flashed up to his left in a pale blue color.

Glancing between the two codes, Loki began carving through the sets of information, ripping, and pulling bits of tainted code from the abnormal sample, trying to fit the pieces back together so that it would function normally.

“Run simulation of new data set.”

“New data set incompatible to run.” Jarvis responded.

Loki growled, “Reset data. Let’s try this again.”

He watched as the sickness in his veins sprawled out around him. He swallowed through the sick feeling in his gut, and dove back into the data. This time he adjusted different sets, rebuilt the code from the other side, carefully modeling after the normal data code to his left.

“Try this configuration,” he finally told Jarvis as he worked the last bit of code into place.

The revised code slowly turned and merged together to create a small DNA module. Loki grinned, before the holographic began to expand and grow, swelling out, and finally bursting.

“Code sample not compatible for running sir.”

Loki nodded numbly, swallowing hard, and trying to not imagine the thing in his own lungs expanding and bursting through his chest. He wrapped his arms around his body, wishing something stronger was here to hold him and help him feel like his lungs weren’t about to rip from his chest.

He took a deep breath, “Reset code. Let’s try again.”

The next three models all failed after just a few seconds, and each of the destroyed holographic nodes resonated in Loki’s chest with a darkening certainty that maybe there was no solution to this.

“Reset code again.” He ran a hand through his still damp hair as the now familiar code of his tainted DNA flared up around him.

He tried to find something he’d miss, some new way of reshaping the code, but everything blurred together and became massless and indistinguishable. He finally just began grabbing and pushing together pieces of code that didn’t match, breaking and bending the data to fit into a narrower shape. Shards of code splintered around him, fading into the darkness of the room around as he whittled down the data.

“Run data set.”

The hologram appeared on screen as a single floating orb that began to multiply after a few seconds. Within ten seconds, the multiplying orbs surrounded Loki, and despite the weightlessness of the hologram he felt it crushing in on him, plunging him into a gasping, choking fight for air.

“End hologram.” he wheezed out as he fell to his knees.

All of the floating graphics and code vanished from sight, and Loki was left alone again, kneeling on the floor, panting for air as the chip against his neck gave a sharp hiss and faintly loosened the tightness in his chest.

“God dammit,” Loki closed his eyes, “Dammit!” He kicked against the nearest cabinet and dropped his head to his knees with a deep, shuddering breath.

“There has to be a way.”   he murmured, “There just has to be something I am missing. I cannot…” his brain stuttered on the thought, “I cannot die.” he swallowed hard.

“Jarvis, how did Tony become a hologram?”

“Classified.”

“I thought we took care of that classified information problem.”

“My apologies sir, but that information is only accessible by Tony Stark’s program directly, I cannot access the information.”

Loki sighed, “Thank you Jarvis.” He ran a hand through his hair and took a long breath, sagging into a chair.

“Jarvis, run simulation on human body using abnormal DNA strand and display.”

“Yes sir.” The jumble of code swirled into a human body shape. A dark spot slowly appeared against the shape’s chest, and like spilled ink seeping through pores the darkness spread across the chest, and slowly consumed the entire body analogue.

Loki put his head in his hands, “What is the timeline?”

“Analogue spans a period of two years,” Jarvis said after a moment.

Loki swore he heard hesitation in the AI’s voice, “What are you not mentioning?”

“That simulation runs the abnormal cell running until it no longer posses the capability to spread.”

Loki closed his eyes, “How long until subject death in the simulation?”

“Between 9-18 months sir.”

Loki nodded slowly, and tried to not do the calculations in his head, but nothing stopped the swirling of numbers. Exactly when had his lungs began failing again? How long ago? 1 month? 2 months? That meant he had over a year at best, and at worst…. “Until Christmas.” he muttered aloud. 

He leaned back in his seat and stared up at the ceiling. There was always the option for another transplant, but how many times could his body survive that? A shudder racked over his body as he thought about the procedure, the snapping of ribs, and the slow ache behind every breath. How many times did he want to survive that?

“Jarvis. Run options for treatment.”

“According to current medical research, options for treatment are attempting to have the infected node removed, however this is a temporary fix as the problem will persist due to defect within genetic coding. Replacement of damaged organs is also an option but again will only create a delay of indeterminate amount. Chance of infection and death high with both options.”

“So, there really isn’t an option?” Loki asked the disembodied voice.

Jarvis didn’t answer the question. “Sir, it has been in surplus of 12 hours since you have eaten. I have prepared a meal for you in the kitchen.”

“I am not hungry Jarvis.” His body was rotting from the inside out and Loki, with all his wealth, all his famed intellect, was powerless to stop it.

He laughed softly, shaking his head; “Someone out there is having a grand laugh at this.”

Loki got back to his feet, “Run DNA  holograms again.” He let the data surround him as he pulled out the black rotten bits again, “There has to be a way.”

The imaginary weight of them burned his hands. He squeezed, tightening around the responsive code until the bits of data broke down and shattered into fragments of corrupt data in his hands.

“Still beating up on holograms huh?” Tony’s voice cut through Loki’s panting for air.

Loki turned to face Tony. The hologram man had his back to Loki, looking over the data on the screen, occasionally flicking his hands across some bit of information.

“Tony, I-“

“Don't. I don’t want your apology. It doesn’t do any good but waste your breath and you’re running short on that aren’t you?”

Loki’s fingers curled into his palm, “…who said I was going to apologize?”

“Yeah? Gonna yell some more instead?” Tony turned towards him, crossing his arms.

“What I do is none of your damn business.”

“I told you before I don’t want you of the house in a body bag.” Tony stepped towards Loki.

“Well, how unfortunate that you do not always get what you want.” Fists curled against his side, Loki turned back to his DNA models, trying to focus on them, “Jarvis reset models.” He waited for the shapes to reform before reaching out to try to isolate the abnormal sections but as his hands touched the code it burst into unrecognizable shapes of red and gold.

“You’ve been working for almost 14 hours straight. Time for bed hot shot.”

Loki spun back towards him, “Put the displays back up.”

“Look, you’re hung over, and haven’t slept enough to be screwing with DNA. Come on, just get some sleep-“

“I do not need sleep! What I need is-“

“You need sleep.” Tony tried to keep his voice soft but his twitching fingers made his annoyance clear, “Come on. I don’t want you out of here because you stressed yourself back to the hospital.”

“Just go. I will be out of your home soon enough.” Loki snapped.

“Jesus, you’re a real piece of work.” Tony groaned, “God, was I this awful to Pepper and Rhodey?”

“Yes sir.” Jarvis answered.

“Rhetorical Jarvis.” Tony rubbed his temple, “Look, just get some sleep and then start working on this whole thing tomorrow. You need sleep. And probably food.”

“Stop telling me what I need!”

“Well you seem to be forgetting about the, you know, basics. Food, sleep, yadda yadda. You’re sick, you should be-”

“Stop.” Loki slowly fell to his knees, “What I need is to work. What I need is to…what I need is to not be dying!”

“Shit… don’t… come on, get up. Come on,” Tony hesitantly leaned over him. “Come on, I’m not good with this…Just…go to bed?”

“Go away. Just go away.” Loki muttered.

“Just…” Tony groaned, “Look, I’m not mad that you were an asshole earlier, and, come on…don’t…Shit. Come on, up and up at ‘em. Loki?”

“Go away. I do not need your pity or your aid.”

Tony sighed, “Come on, that’s not any way to-“

“Do not tell me what I need,” Loki hissed, “You died alone in your workshop with enough alcohol in your body to sanitize your organs, so do not try to lecture me on needing help or taking care of one’s self.”

Tony bristled. The hologram took a deep, unnecessary breath, “Yeah. Yeah I did, and now I’m trying to keep you from doing the same damn thing you ungrateful prick!” His image flickered from view, and the DNA holograms reappeared.  

Loki growled, slamming his fists up into the replica of his lungs. The diagram splintered and exploded into the air around him. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, staring at the bits of code flickering out around him like stars burning out of the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for waiting for this chapter! <3


	10. Backburn

Loki stayed curled up on the floor of the lab, staring at the ceiling as Jarvis flickered the lights out, "You should sleep sir." Jarvis said.

Loki didn't respond letting the darkness of the room wash over him and slowly calm the way his heart pounded. "Jarvis, display a replica of the milky way."

After a few moments, the hologram flickered to life and displayed overhead. Loki let out a long breath as the stars circled around him.

He reached up and let the holograms splatter against his hand; the stars broke up against his palm. He tried to catch the stars, imaging what they would be like burning against his skin.

He closed his eyes and sighed, wishing that he could fall into the stars and burn up. That image consumed him as he curled up against the cold floor and drifted off into dreams of fire consuming him.  

He came to about an hour later with his head pounding and his stomach rock and churned. He groaned and rolled onto his hands and knees as he slowly crawled forward, grabbing onto the edge of a counter and pulling himself upwards and back onto his feet. Wobbling faintly, he stumbled out of the lab, catching himself on the wall before starting slowly up the stairs and back onto the main floor.

A pot of hot water was already in the kettle, and two eggs over easy, sizzled on a plate, but Loki ignored them and continued his slow stumble up the stairs and to his bedroom.

"Jarvis shower." He muttered, hearing the water begin to run and splatter against the shower stall.

He sighed in relief as he stripped out of his clothes, tossing them haphazardly to the floor before he finally got to the shower and just slumped to the floor under the hot water.

He closed his eyes and let it rain down around him. He finally forced himself to stand up and began washing himself, working in slow circles over his body, mindlessly working over his skin. When he finished, he rinsed all of the soap from his body and stepped back out to wrap in a fluffy robe. He pulled it closed around his body and sighed as he fell onto his bed. "Jarvis, take a note."

"Yes sir. As an email?"

"...Yes. As an email sent to my mother... under contact name Frigga Ruser."

"Of course sir."

"Dear mother," Loki started slowly, before shaking his head. "Delete that." He cleared his throat, "Dear Frigga." He took a deep breath, "I will be dead when you receive this email, and I wish for this to overrule any standing will I have. I wish for my body to be donated to science for study so that my mutated gene can be better identified and dealt with in the future."

He looked down at his hands, "I...will not apologize for what I said at dinner. You lied to me my entire life, and now that I am dying you reveal the truth to me?" He scoffed, shaking his head and then rubbing his temples, "I...I...I do not know what to say to you. I do not even know who you are anymore. Certainly not my mother." He sighed, dropping his head into his hands, "I do not understand why you lied to me. Why did you hide this from me? Why did you not tell me the truth when I was first diagnosed? Why hide this from me for years as I went through surgery after surgery to try to repair the damage my body did to itself?"

"I...Why? I do not understand why. And I am beginning to think I never will. I suppose in the end it really will not much matter. The matter of my birth does not change my ultimate fate."

"That is the worst suicide note I've ever heard." Tony Stark's voice spoke up, and Loki jumped.

"It is not a suicide note." Loki murmured, "Jarvis end note."

"Yes sir."

"It is a note to be sent after my death." Loki sat up and turned towards the hologram standing in the doorway.

"Sure sounds like a suicide note to me." Tony said, "Come on, let's not go down that road."

"I do not have to plan to kill myself. My body is taking care of that task for me. All I have to do is keep breathing and that will ensure my death."

"Uh, that's every living creature ever. Doesn't make you special."

"What are you doing here Stark?" Loki asked, turning to the hologram, "I thought it was quite clear that I did not require your presence."

"Yeah, well maybe I just missed you." Tony grinned.

Loki shook his head, "Now that is the biggest lie I have heard yet."

"Aw come on. I don't hate you.”

Loki rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Hey, don't run off." Tony sighed, "Seriously, what are you doing? Don't send that email to your mother."

"It is not going to send until I am dead already."

"And by the time you die you won't even remember writing that email and you will break her heart."

"Oh, you know my mother so well do you?"

"No! Listen asshole." Tony stood up, looking up at Loki, "I know cause I did that same thing. I composed these emails apologizing for not telling my closest friends that I was dying. Yeah, imagine that. Your friend of some years just emailing you out of the blue 'Hey! By the time you read this I'll be dead. Sorry I didn't tell you!'" He shook his head, "Trust me. That isn't what you need to do."

"Yes, well our situations are quite different."

"Really? You really think that? Cause they look damn near like twins to me."

"Stop Stark. I appreciate your attempt at camaraderie, but I would rather be on my own in this instance."

"No you wouldn't."

"Would you stop telling me what I want?"

"No, because no one was here to keep me from making stupid decisions so I'm here to keep you from doing the same stupid shit I did. Look, I know you're pissed, alright? You can yell at me all you want, fine. But there's no reason to be mad at your-"

"At my pretend family?" Loki snapped, "At my pretend family who has lied to me for years? Who watched me suffer and suffer with this disease knowing that my only hope would ultimately fall to finding my birth family." Loki turned away from Tony.

"Did they really know that?"

Loki paused, "What?"

"Did they really know that you'd need your family? I thought the doctors replaced your lungs and told you that it would be fine."

"The first and second time that happened."

"So how would your family have known?"

"They should have known after it failed the first time! It failed and I had to have a second replacement! They should have told me then!"

"What? While you were in the hospital recovering? Or what? After you moved in here and disappeared?"

"They could have told me at any time! My entire childhood they could have told me! They could have raised me knowing the truth. They hid it from me. They never even whispered anything! No one, not even my brother!"

"Do you know for sure your brother even knew?"

"What?" Loki frowned.

"How do you know he even knew? You can't hold him accountable for his folks making this mistake."

Loki crossed his arm, taking a deep breath. "I don't know."

"Alright, look. You're pissed and that's fine but if you seriously think you're going to die you really want to go out twisting a knife into your mom's heart. Shit, I think if my mom had been alive when I died..." Tony shook his head, "Well, I like to think I wouldn't have pulled the crap I pulled. I went out like a soggy firecracker."

Loki stepped from the bed, and walked over to the windows, looking out across the waves crashing against the shores below. He took a long, slow breath. "I want to go out like a forest fire." He whispered.

"Uh... destroying everything?"

"No... Something that the world will notice. I want to leave a mark that the world will never forget. I do not want to die gasping for air and clutching at a hospital gown. I have spent so much of my life there, if I am going to die, I want to die doing something incredible."

A line formed between Tony’s brows, and ha frown spread over his lips. “Get some sleep hot shot. Things will look better after sleep.” He finally said, voice soft.

Loki glanced at Tony, “…I do not understand why you are still here.”

“Uh… I live here.” Tony said.

“You know what I mean.” Loki glared, stepping closer and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Tony groaned, “Alright look, I told you already. I didn’t have anyone here to keep me from making some shit decisions so I’m here now.”

“Oh how generous of you.” He rolled his eyes as he flopped onto his back.

“Oh, will you just stop?” Tony growled, “Jesus, enough already! Yeah, you got a crap hand of cards dealt to you right now. But you know what? You’ve got people offering to help!”

“To do what exactly?” Loki snapped, “I’ve tried all of the DNA combinations and alterations. None of them work!”

“None of the ones you’ve found.” Tony crossed his arms, “You’re not the only genius around.”

“And what? When did you become an expert in genetic mutation?”

“Last night.” Tony smirked, “Look, we can work on this together.”

Loki sighed, closing his eyes and curling up without another word, even in sleep his features were tense.

 

\---

 

 

Tony watched Loki sleeping, and shook his head. He called in Dum-E to get a blanket up over Loki, watching as the robot struggled to get the blanket over Loki and eventually settled for snuggly tucking Loki in from the knees down.

When he was certain Dum-E wasn’t about to accidently smother Loki, Tony flickered back down to the lab. He stretched, swinging his arms from side to side. “Alright Jarvis, pull up all the info you’ve got on Loki and whatever’s eating him.”

“Yes sir.”

After a few seconds, the information flickered into the holograms overhead. Tony sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “This is a mess, isn’t it?” He groaned, “Alright, show me everything he’s tried.”

Jarvis ran through the sequence, displaying a video feed of all of the models that Loki had worked over and which had failed over and over again. “Alright, so how long do we have?”

“Optimistically until perhaps February. Realistically sir, I do not think that Mr. Ruser will last until the New Year sir.”

“Fuck.” Tony groaned, and put his head down. “So you’re saying there aren’t any other options?”

“None that I or Mr. Ruser have been able to discover.”

Tony took a few deep breaths before sitting back up, and popping his neck, “Well, good thing you two have me then. Jarvis start a new file: Forest Fire.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is shorter, I decided to break this chapter in half so the next chapter should be up soon.


	11. Commensalism

Loki woke with a blanket over just his legs and Dum-E at his bedside, trying to push the blanket up further. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "It is fine Dum-E." He murmured as he rubbed his eyes and slowly got out of bed.

The little robot rolled over to Loki, and held up a blanket. Loki sighed softly but accepted the blanket and draped it around his shoulders, "Thank you Dum-E."

Dum-E chirped and flapped its arms before rolling out of the room. Loki felt a small smile tug at his lips before he shook his head, and just tightened the blanket around his shoulders, sighing into the fluffy warmth.

Glancing out the window, he noticed the sky covered in a pale green-grey hue of clouds with rain pouring down against the windows. Lightning rushed across the sky, illuminating small pieces of the heaven before disappearing again. His stomach growled in time with a burst of thunder, and he reluctantly headed downstairs to make some sort of food.

He poked around the pantry for a while, finding a simple cup of noodles and broth. He shook his head, "You really are taking this well Loki," He grumbled to himself, "Wrapping yourself in a blanket and making chicken noodle soup like some sick toddler."

He set the broth to start boiling as he found chicken in the fridge and carefully cut it to size and began cooking it before adding it to the broth.

He leaned against the counter, staring into the boiling liquid and letting his thoughts consume him. "Jarvis, create a to-do list." He said.

"Yes sir." The voice he'd grown so accustomed to responded.

Loki sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, "Create a will, ensure a copy makes it to my lawyer for review. Check if I need any sort of mental check to ensure it is not questioned." He ran his hand over his face, "Compile all of my creations and ensure they are destroyed before my.... departure." He leaned against the counter, and took a shaky breath, "Call.....Call mom, and apologize."

He stirred the pot of boiling liquid and added the noodles, "Re-seal and secure the iron man suit area. Actually, secure the entire lab, whoever lives here after me doesn't need to get down there." He glanced to the living room where he could see Dum-E trying to put a few books away. "Find a safe home for Dum-E." He added in a bit of seasoning, "Create the plan for my memorial service. Make sure no ridiculous music is played." He smiled very faintly, "Mother would like at least Amazing Grace, so I will allow that."

He waited a few more moments before pouring the finished soup into a bowl and watching it steam.

"Create a do not resuscitate order and revoke access to my organs after my death." He tapped on his chin, "Look into donating body to science, see what forms and process are required for that." He ran his hands through his hair and stirred his soup, watching the bits of noodles, meat, and veggies float around.  "Determine what will happen to Stark mansion after…" he cleared his throat, "Look into turning into a museum or a school or....something."

He put the soup down and put his hand in his hands, "Dammit. I am not...I can not..." He took a shuddering breath, "You can do this Loki. And even if you can not... you must." He told himself before forcing himself to eat the soup in his bowl. The flavors fell flat and unnoticed against his tongue.

"Repeat list back to me." Loki requested.

Jarvis slowly went by the list and Loki listened in silence, nodding his head. "Well then I suppose I have much to accomplish and little time to do it. Must stick to a schedule shouldn’t we?"

He took a deep breath before putting the empty dishes into the sink and going to pull out his tablet, waving his hand screens flew up under his finger tips and he hastily typed an unfamiliar name, 'Sif' to email his lawyer who he hadn't spoken to in years since a minor copyright infringement case. "Sif," he spoke as his fingers flew over the keys, 'I hope you are doing well. I require your assistance in creating a will, and ensuring that it is ironclad and not questionable. Please email at your earliest convenience."

He sighed, staring at the screen hovering in the air in front of him. He swallowed hard, pacing back and forth in front of it, watching the cursor flash on screen awaiting his input. "Jarvis run a search on local medical schools in the area and what their policies are on donating bodies to science. Send inquiry email to whoever is listed as contact person, and inform me when they respond." He said, running a hand through his hair.

"Yes sir." Jarvis responded, "Sir, incoming phone call from Frigga Ruser."

"Ignore." Loki said quickly, "I thought I told you to ignore all incoming phone calls Jarvis."

"My apologies sir but Mrs. Ruser has called 37 times in the span of the last 24 hours and I wished to allow you the opportunity to respond."

Loki clenched his fists, "Ignore all calls." He repeated his earlier instruction.

"Yes sir." The call was immediately silenced.

Loki put both his hands on the counter and leaned down to press his forehead against the counter top and took slow, deep breaths, closing his eyes tightly. "I..." He let out another breath, "Stark?"

He waited for a few moments before asking, "Jarvis, where is Stark?"

"Undetermined sir." Jarvis reported after a moment.

"You don't know where he is?" Loki frowned, standing up straight. "How is that possible?"

"Mr. Stark exists in a separate area of data that I have no control or data control over him." Jarvis explained.

Loki sighed, and walked through the holo-screen, letting it dissolve around him as he headed past Dum-E and down the stairs and into the lab. "Stark?" He called again, "Where have you gone to now?" He asked.

There was no response but Loki could hear various motors up and running. Screens flickered through various sets of data. Loki frowned when he noticed some of the data looked familiar.

"That's my medical information." Loki frowned, touching the screen and freezing the information, looking over everything. All of his medical information listed here in chronological order, every doctor's visit, hospital trip, and consultation, everything all in his hands right here. "Stark!?" He called louder, "What are you doing going through my medical files?"

Still no answer aside from the soft hum of machines.

He let go of the data stream and it returned to cycling across the screen in a slow, constant stream. Occasionally bits of information would flash in a soft green color, expand and then disappear again.

"Stark?" He called, "Stark what are you doing?"

He groaned, "If you are trying to find a cure then you are wasting your time. I have tried every possible combination and there has been no change." He sighed, "The effort is...appreciated. I suppose. But, I do not want you poking around my medical history if you please. How did you even get that information?"

He waited for a moment, but still got no answer. "Just going to ignore me now Stark? You keep saying you wish to help, but invading my privacy is not the way to do it." He murmured, "So show yourself, and let us discuss what you are doing."

He sighed when he saw nothing changed, only the same flickering of data over the screen. He groaned and continued through the lab, "Stark? This is ridiculous!" He yelled.

"Oh stop being a drama queen." Tony's voice echoed through the lab.

Loki followed after it, "Stark? What are you doing with my data?"

"Just some light bed time reading. You've got a very colorful history you know?" He said, "It's great to really just lull you straight into sleep mode."

Loki sighed, "Those records are private. Did you hack the hospital to get access to those?"

"Hack? Who? Me? Noooooooo, like you could even call that hacking, more like child's play in the sandbox. You know I poked the data sources a few times and your files just happened to fall into my servers. Just a happy little accident is all."

"Haha Stark. Erase my files." Loki crossed his arms, "As I have told you already, your attempts to find some sort of magical solution that does not exist is admirable but entirely unrealistic and a waste of your energy."

"Baby I run on renewable energy so I'm ready to go all night if you can handle it." Stark teased, "Don't worry about running down my batteries."

"Stark, stop. I have asked you to stop this instant. Please, just listen to me, and stop." Loki slammed his fist against a keyboard.

“I know that it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero.”

Loki jumped at the sudden appearance of the billionaire on the holo-screen above him. He vaguely recognized the footage from a press conference Tony Stark had taken part in.

On screen, Tony fumbled with his notecards, shifted, ”I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made…largely public.”

Loki could almost see the switch flick in Tony’s eyes, “The truth is…I am Iron Man.”

He smiled faintly at the proclamation.

“Sometimes I wonder if I shoulda done that or not.” The hologram of Tony Stark leaned over Loki’s shoulder. “Jarvis, turn off screen.”

The screen faded to blackness.

“Why did you?” Loki asked.

Tony shrugged, “Recklessness. I mean who doesn’t want to be a hero, but I wasn’t the hero type.”

“A lot of people think you were.”

“And once upon a time a lot of people thought the world was flat. People are dumb.”

“Yes. They are.” Loki looked at the blank screen, watching Tony’s reflection, “And I was not just dumb but cruel as well these past few evenings. I…apologize.”

Tony shrugged, “I did worse when I was dying so I can’t hold it against you for too long. Beside, I just had Dum-E pour syrup in your bed, I think that makes us even.”

Loki smiled faintly, “I suppose it does.”

“So what are you going to do?” Tony asked, and the hologram flickered to Loki’s side.

Loki sighed, “Clearly you missed where I had Jarvis help me prepare a to-do list. I have much to take care of before…well before the inevitable. I must create a will, destroy any of my programs that could be used for harm by the wrong people, determine what to do with the house, and-“

“What to do with my house you mean?” Tony asked.

Loki glared, “With my house. Yes.”

Tony fell silent, looking thoughtful. "Meet me down at the suit’s lab." He said before flickering out of sight.

Loki frowned, heading further downstairs to the lab. "Stark?"

Loki frowned and slowly made his way through the lab, finding the secret door leading to the area with the suits. "Stark?" he called again.

He jumped when one of the suits lurched forward.

Loki immediately darted backwards, rushing back towards the door as it began to slam shut. Just before he reached it, it slammed and latched shut. Loki clawed at the smooth space where door met wall; his finger nails couldn't catch on anything. His breathing began to tighten in his chest, coiling around his rotten lungs as he wheezed and gasped, slowly slumping down against the wall, staring up with wide eyes as the suit stomped towards him.

His lips moved in the familiar shape of Tony but he couldn't form any words as he struggled to just get air into his body.

The suit slowly knelt down to Loki's level, eye level and reached out towards him. Loki flinched, closing his eyes and curling up against the wall to brace for impact. He blinked away when he felt something slip over his head and slide into place over his nose and mouth. Oxygen flowed into him and he slowly felt his chest relax and air return to his body. The suit leaned backwards to give Loki some space.

Loki nodded his thanks, and let his head fall against the wall as he closed his eyes and just focused on breathing.

"You alright there hot shot?" Tony's voice sounded.

Loki opened his eyes, looking up to try to find Tony, but he couldn't spot the hologram anywhere in the lab. "Tony? Where are you?"

"Right here babe."

"Right where?" Loki leaned against the wall, using it to try to get himself upright again. He slipped, but the suit moved forward to catch his arms and keep him from hitting the ground again.

"Right here." The suit said.

"You are in the suit?" Loki stared into the blank bare metal faceplate of the iron man suit.

"I am the suit." He made sure Loki was secure on his own feet before stepping away and spreading his arms wide. "I wanted to make sure I could still take over the suit."

"You did it before to get me to the hospital."

"Yeah but that was an older model. This is the last model I made. Never even saw the light of day. Hell, I never even got the chance to get a paint job done on it." He held his hands up, moving the bare metal fingers slowly. "You like?"

"I....suppose so?" Loki said slowly, "What are you doing in one of the suits now? Trying to scare me to an even earlier grave?"

"Haha. No." Tony stretched his arms up. "You said you wanted to go out in a blaze of glory right?"

"I did." Loki narrowed his eyes, "Why?"

"Well, let's just say I've been listening to the news and there's some crazy stuff going on. Rogue AIs, people building weapons, you know the same kinds of thing that I use to deal with."

"And what? You are going to take back up the mantle of the Iron Man? How exciting for you."

"If you'd stop being an asshole I'd tell you my plan."

 Loki sighed, "What?"

"You're going to take up the Iron Man mantle."

"I beg your pardon?" Loki stared.

"You heard me."

"You are delusion. I do not have combat training."

"I have enough for both of us."

"What does that matter?"

"Look, you can be in the suit, but I can still operate it."

"So what? You take me for a ride?"

Tony laughed, "Well, if you're offering..."

Loki blinked then felt the flush rush across his cheeks. "That... that was not at all what I intended!"

"I know, that's what makes it all the better." The suit stepped a little closer and Loki instantly stepped back.

"So...you are suggesting that I simply ride in the suit while you fly around?"

"Well, I'm not just gonna drag you around. You'll still call the shots but I can keep you from getting crushed, maimed or killed while flying around."

"You refused to let me have access to the suits at all, so why now?"

"Jesus, you can't just take a gift can you?" He sighed, "Well, I'm not really giving you access to the suit, I'd still be running it, but you'd get to not just sit here."

"You are serious?"

"Yeah. I thought that was clear. Hell, we can even paint it whatever colors you want."

"Why are you doing this Tony?"

 He sighed, "Because I wish I'd had the chance to go out like a flash, doing something incredible, and being out there instead of trapped in my own home drowning myself."

"So, what? You are offering us the chance to work together?" Loki asked, leaning in closer to the suit.

"Yep."

Loki traced along the suit, "This suit is ill-sized to fit me. I am not shaped like you Stark."

"Oh really? I hadn't noticed that you are a bean pole stretched out and gorgeous. I mean... Yeah I know the suit's the wrong size. We'll have some work to do to make it work, but you can be in the suit. What do you say?"

"Wait, did you say gorgeous?"

"My...programming must be malfunctioning. You ought to look at that. Make sure I'm not corroding or corrupting or something."

Loki smiled lightly, "I suppose I could take a look at your code again, make you pink once more."

"You do that and the suit option is off the table asshole."

Loki shook his head and leaned against the edge of the lab counter, "Stark?"

"What now?" Tony sighed.

"Can the suit go to space?" Loki asked.

"Space? What do you mean? Flying? Hell yeah, can fly and break the sound barrier without even working up a sweat. And with some upgrades-"

"Can it breach the atmosphere and reach space?" Loki elaborated.

"Oooh, you mean like space the final frontier space." Tony said after a moment.

"Yes, like space with the stars." Loki said, looking the suit over.

"Hm... I never made it that far with the suit. I'm not sure it's got a tight enough seal to keep from ya know space explosion, death, yadda yadda." Tony tapped a metallic finger against the helmet, "I suppose some adjustments could be made, beef up the life support to be able to still provide oxygen even when that far of a distance from earth. I'm not quite sure what Jarvis' range is."

"It might be worth investigating." Loki suggested.

"Hell yeah. I haven't had a project in ages."

"Can you manipulate these items without a physical form?" Loki asked, getting up off the lab counter.

"Jarvis does a lot of the heavy lifting but I could use some help."

"You said you did not want me anywhere near your suits."

"Yeah well, that was then this is now. Times change, get with it or get out." He shrugged, and the hologram stepped from the suit.

The suit sagged downwards without the hologram sustaining it. Tony looked from Loki to the Iron Man suit, "Yeah... damn. That's going to be a lot of work. You're tall." He frowned. "Jarvis, get some proper measurements of Lokes will ya?"

"Yes sir. Please hold still Mr. Ruser." Jarvis said and a soft blue beam of light ran over Loki's body.

Loki frowned towards the ceiling, "I did not consent to have you scanning me."

"My apologies sir." The blue lights vanished. "Measurements completed."

"Great, add to project Forest Fire." Tony cracked his knuckles and then snapped his head from one side to the other. "God it's nice to have something to work on again."

"I still do not understand why you are doing this."

"Jesus, how many times do I have to spell it out for you. I don't wanna sit here and watch you die the same way I did, wallowing in self-pity too stubborn and proud to ask for help. Least I can do is help you go out with a bang."

"You intend for me to go out with you controlling the suit? Are you planning to kill me Stark?"

Tony laughed, "Aw, babe, if I wanted you dead, I'd have had Dum-E kill you in the night."

"I think if that is your assassination plan than I have nothing to fear from you. He means well, but Dum-E would make an ill assassin."

"See? He's already fooled you! You just think he's a bumbling little robot who can't serve food for anything, but…he's actually a ninja."

"Hm yes. I can certainly see that. He must be the stealthiest ninja that the world has ever known."

Tony grinned, "Don't let him fool you."

"I do not let anything fool me." Loki nodded, leaning forward to touch the suit, tracing his fingers over the metal seams. "The detail in this is incredible."

"What?" Tony frowned.

"The way you have been able to replicate the movements of the body, the bending of the joints, the seamless range of movement that this posses. You have almost totally replicated the human body in mechanical form. It is truly beautiful."

"Jesus, you're gonna make me blush." Tony rubbed the back of his head, "Most people just ask how do you go to the bathroom in it...they don't notice details like joint movement."

"Most people are rather provincial in their thoughts. They do not question what they see, they simply accept everything at face value."

"Yeah, well no argument here." Tony smiled, "Guess I thought maybe that would've changed after ya know a hundred years."

"I think that no matter how much the world may change, the one constant will be that people will always be people."

"What else would they be?" Tony asked.

"Holograms. Apparently." Loki offered a faint smile.

Tony grinned back, "Aw shucks, you say the prettiest things."

Loki rolled his eyes, but couldn't pull the smile from his face. "What work do we have to start with?"

"Well first thing is first, we have to figure out how much size adjustment we're gonna have to do. I know the legs are waayyyy too short. You've got to be the leggiest guy I have ever met. You're like part giraffe or something."

Loki smiled faintly, "You are just sadly lacking in stature."

"But I'm big where it counts." Tony winked, "Aw, close your mouth and let's get to work."

Loki glared, "You are big only in personality." he rolled his eyes, "Now where did you wish to begin?"

Tony slid back into the suit, everything slowly lighting up as the suit moved back across the lab and then climbed up on one of the counters to lay down. Tony hopped up out of the suit and landed to the side of the table, "Alright, let's get down to business!"

Loki went to stand beside Tony.

"You've got the scans you took of Loki right Jarvis?" Tony asked.

"Of course sir."

"Good, let's put those to good use. Start cutting new armor plates to fit him."

"Yes sir." Jarvis responded.

Loki frowned, "Is it really that easy?"

Tony laughed, "Oh doll face, you have no idea what you're getting in for."

"What does that mean?" Loki scowled, "What are you expecting us to do?"

"Do you really think making the iron man suit is as easy as saying 'Hey Jarvis, make that for me!' God, what kind of genius do you think I am? How lame would that be?"

"I do not know. You keep asking Jarvis to do things. I do not know how these things are made or what all they can even do."

Tony sighed, "Jarvis can handle the really detail oriented stuff. The cutting things to exact measurements and putting things together is something Jarvis is better at, less likely to make mistakes than doing it by hand, but the wiring, the actual making the weapons connect to the proper circuits, that's all me baby."

"You mean it will be all me, correct? You no longer possess a physical body to do anything with."

"Do you really have to keep rubbing that in? Jeez." Tony shook his head, "Yes. You're going to have to be my hands right now and do exactly what I tell you. The main problem is going to be creating the power source for it. My suits connected to the reactor in my chest, but I know there's got to be another way to do it. I'd come up with a few options for Rhodey..." He look away for a moment, sighing heavily before shaking his head, "But I know that could be improved on and made into something better for you to use. Hell with all the technology you've got I bet I could make all kinds of new things."

"A power source?" Loki looked at Tony's chest where the reactor glowed softly even in the hologram's body. "Will I have to have something implanted into me?"

Tony laughed, "No. Nope, that won't be necessary, we can create an external power source that keeps the suit powered and everything running, but it'll be based within the suit itself. Mainly, we're going to need to make sure that the compartment that contains that power source is secure enough to withstand most every kind of hit because if that baby breaks, it's game over across the board. Leaking palladium is...well ya know. Deadly."

"So I will have a tiny nuclear reactor within the armor itself?"

"Not exactly, but something close to that. The amount of energy in it will be nearly limitless and self sustaining, but it's going to need to be protected by several layers so that we don't have it cracking or busting cause even if the leaks didn't reach you, it'd disrupt the power enough that you'd be trapped in the suit without me there."

"Oh what a shame."

"Haha." Tony smirked, "Too bad without power to suit the oxygen supplies tend to disappear too. So I think you might want to reconsider that."

"Well then we need to build in a secondary power source that controls some sort of escape hatch. That way if the primary power fails, there's a way to escape the suit still."

Tony tapped his chin and nodded, "Probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Even enough of a power source to allow you to escape, maybe set up a beacon to automatically take you back here when it's activated." He stroked his goatee. "Yeah, that's not a bad idea."

"I do occasionally have good ideas you know." Loki smirked.

Tony grinned, "Yeah I know. Had Jarvis do quite a bit of research on you. You've done some pretty damn impressive things with AI and some of the programs you’ve created.” He whistled, “I'd hire you on in a heartbeat if I was still in charge of Stark...well... Pepper would hire you, she ran the company." He sighed, "Did a damn fine job of it, without me even." He smiled weakly.

"I know that this must be strange for you. Being back here. I do apologize for waking you like this."

"Nah, it was time. The program would have activated itself eventually, or something. I mainly just wanted to make sure no one ever got their hands on my tech. The suits were everything." He sighed, "Jesus, I didn't turn out so different from my dad after all."

He shook his head, "Sorry, getting sappy. Alright, so power source..."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your paitence everyone! <3


	12. Ablation

Rebuilding the suit was just the kind of project Tony needed, finding new ways to adjust the armor to fit a body so unlike his own presented a new challenge, and, if he were being honest, getting to ogle the scans of Loki and imagine his body wasn't a bad way to spend the time. Hell, it was actually a pretty damn entertaining way to pass the time.

"Render the suit in black." Tony said, and watched as Jarvis recreated the new 3d model in a sleek black. What colors did Loki even like? Judging by his wardrobe that'd be black, black, and black leather.

For a grown man he sure dressed a lot like some gothic kid from the 90s. He tilted his head over the black model, still looked a little wrong for some reason, like some wannabe version of batman.

"Try it in green." Loki spoke up and Tony tried to not give away how startled he was.

The man moved like the damn wind, never making a sound to give away where he was, just appearing.

"Green, really?" Tony asked.

"It's quieter than red and gold." Loki smirked.

"Hey now, don't insult the original color scheme. That's a classic." He shook his head, "Alright sure, Jarvis, let's see it in green."

"Black with green accents, and a bit of gold as an accent color." Loki corrected.

Tony turned to look at him, "What? Did you get a degree in fashion design or something?"

"Those colors go well together. That is always my stand by for when I have to wear a suit or dress for some formal event." Loki protested, "It is a good look, and not nearly as loud as red and gold."

Tony shook his head, "Well there's no accounting for taste. Alright, Jarvis, let's see what it looks like, don't keep us in suspense."

The new 3d model slowly spun into view. The main components of the suit were black with green highlighted some of the side components, and gold lining the parts between black and green. As much as Tony hated to admit it, the suit looked damn good in those colors. Less flashy but sleek and elegant, especially in the long lean form it was taking to fit Loki.

"Alright, you've got an eye for color." Tony admitted and Loki smirked.

"How is the building progressing?" Loki asks, "Is a prototype ready?"

"Yep. Jarvis just finished the assembly and now it's off to paint so tomorrow I figure we can take her out for a spin and see how well it handles. I'll have to adjust to a new flight pattern ya know since the weight distribution's going to be a bit off and it not being my body might be a bit weird.

“Are you sure you want to do this?" Loki asked Tony.

"Why do you keep asking me that? That's the third time you've asked me if I'm sure. Why the hell wouldn't I be sure? I'm the one who suggested it. You really think I'd suggest this idea and then toss it because I what? Wanted to play some kind of prank on you? Seriously? I'm an asshole but that'd be low even for me."

Loki looked down at his feet, then up to the design again, "I have always wondered what it would be like to fly." He said absently, "I use to dream about it all the time, not falling but flying. For a little while I thought I would design a suit like this, but I never made the time to actually do it."

"Well lucky you, you get the fun without the schematic tinkering, granted that can be part of the fun, but nothing beats flying. It's incredible. The first time you break through the clouds." He whistled, pleased he could still make that sound, "It's like finding a whole new world."

Loki smirked, "That line was in a Disney movie."

"Jesus, you still have Disney movies?"

Loki laughed, "They are immortal apparently. Yes, Disney still makes movies with singing creatures looking for love. Some of their tunes are rather catchy though, so I just recognized those lyrics. A whole new world, right?"

Tony laughed, "Oh don't ask me to sing because you will really not like that much at all. I am not, and have never been a singer."

"You could program yourself a lovely singing voice, could you not?"

"I could, but this is a pure AI of me, and that includes the au naturale singing voice."

Loki smiled faintly, "Good I would rather not be serenaded."

"Aw, no romance and candlelight for you?" Tony asked with a teasing grin.

"No dating for me really." Loki said, leaning back, "I never made much time for it. Always busy with work."

"That's a shame." Tony said, "Dating can be a helluva lot of fun."

"You dated a lot?"

"I had a lot of one night stands pretty early in life, and then I had a pretty amazing woman who I was just kinda getting to know. Wish I would have really asked her out." Tony smiled and looked down, "Though I'm sure she would have had a lot to say about you know me being her boss and dating and how that just wouldn't have worked. But she was... she was amazing. The most singular person I ever met."

Loki nodded, "I'm glad you at least got to meet someone like that. A lot of people never do."

"Yeah, I just was too stupid to try to make a move a move, got preoccupied with the suits, with the company, and then you know with the whole dying thing. Makes it hard to date."

Loki laughed, "Yes. Yes it does. Especially when your doctors all but put you on house arrest under pain of literal death. Hard to meet the right guy when you are only ever in your own house."

"The right guy?" Tony echoed.

"Hm?" Loki blinked, "Yes certainly."

"You're gay?"

"Gay? Oh that was the term in your time. Yes, I prefer male companionship. You are...you prefer female company?" He asked.

"What? Oh, yes. I mean no. I mean… I’m bi. Girls and guys, you know? I don't discriminate." He flashed a cheesy grin.

Loki laughed, "Somehow that detail never made it into of your biographies."

Tony smiled, "Well you know in my time, there was a bit of uh... let's say prejudice against that kind of thing. Hell most people never even talked about it. Big shameful secret really. I'm taking it that has changed?"

"Of course, what kind of cave world do you think we live in now?" Loki laughed, "No, that is just irrelevant information, who someone prefers to sleep with or to not sleep with has such little baring on anything of any real measure. It's strange to even think that it use to be such an issue."

Tony laughed, "Well I'm glad to hear that some things have changed. I never did understand how something that little turns out to be such a big problem for so many people. Never made a lick of damn sense to me or I guess to anyone with half a brain."

"It is honestly hard to believe that it was such an issue at one point in time. None of your biographies mentioned any kind of preference for men." Loki said, reaching over to the hologram model and going to tweak it to better look at it.

"Well that's not exactly something I'd widely advertise, not really a good thing at the time, I didn't really get involved with too many men, and if I did, I was always really drunk so it could just play it off."

"You thought about things like that?" He asked as he zoomed the image in on the helmet and adjusted some of the coloring on it.

"Every day." Tony answered easily, "When you pretty much grow up with a camera following your every move, you get use to the idea that someone's always watching. It gets easier and easier to create the story they want to see, and a lot of times it turns out to be easy enough that you don't think about it, it just happens."

"So, you just acted the part?"

"Well, I mean I like booze, and I like parties, so... that part wasn't so much an act, but I showed them what people wanted to see, and they believed it, that's all there is to it. What are you doing with the coloring?"

"I though maybe a touch more gold in the mask part, something to harken back to your suit might be appropriate, what do you think?"

Tony tilted his head, "Yeah that's actually not bad, looks kinda like mine but yeah, definitely different. You've got a style all your own, don't you?" He asked with a smile.

"I do not know if I would call it style, but I have certainly got something that is all my own, otherwise I would not be standing here having this conversation with you." Loki laughed faintly.

Tony grinned, "So you're a little rebel huh?" He asked, "I wouldn't have guessed that. Would have thought you're a right little goodie two shoes."

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"Why on earth would you think that?" Loki tilted his head.

"Must be the way you talk, like you're drinking tea with your pinky out all the time. Hard to imagine someone who talks like that doing anything untoward. I mean you barely manage a swear word or two in all the time I've been around you. It's impressive. So tell me, were you a wild child?"

Loki flushed lightly and looked away, "I was ill most of my childhood until my first transplant, and when I became a teenager I...well I wanted to make up for lost time so yes I might have gotten a little carried away with my behavior." He cleared his throat, "But that was a long time ago."

"Oh my God you 'might have gotten a little carried away'? What the hell does that even mean? You stayed out past curfew and got grounded?" Tony laughed, "That is the most ridiculous sounding thing I've-"

"I stole Vibranium from a top secret lab." Loki said quickly.

Tony stopped and just stared at him, "You did what?"

Loki cleared his throat, "The school I was studying at had a bit of Vibranium. I had been studying it and was curious about a few of its applications so I just borrowed a small amount."

"You borrowed one of the most dangerous substances on the planet? How the hell did you even get that stuff? The last of it was used in Capsicle's shield." "

Cap si what?"

"Capsicle... Cap America, you know? Red white and all American blue-eyed?"

Loki nodded, "I do know of him. No the Vibranium in his shield was not the last. Well it perhaps was the last until trade agreements were made with Wakanda a few years back."

"With what?"

"Wakanda. It's an incredibly wealthy and advanced nation in Africa. Most of our technological advances have come from partnerships with their researchers. They have ample supplies of Vibranium but agreeing to trade took several years of negotiations and various agreements before their leader, T'Challa, would allow even a small amount to be exported. They are an amazing people. I actually hoped to study there but they are so wary of outsiders, I do not think I would have ever been allowed to stay for longer than a few hours. No one has ever stayed the night but I still hope one day to see them... Well I had hoped... Now..."

"You're telling me there is a chance we could have enough Vibranium to make an entire suit?"

"Well that much Vibranium is probably not actually a real option. That amount would be far beyond the scope of the agreements. They just have allowed small amounts primarily for research purposes under strict guidelines."

"Uh-huh, so how did your little 'borrowing' go?" He asked, crossing his arms, "Please tell me you're now a wanted man in all fifty states."

"Fifty-three states, and do not be ridiculous. No, I studied it for the night and returned it without anyone being the wiser, but the information I discovered helped me make leaps in my own research on proper housing for AIs and a way to create a manual shut down that forces a machine to overheat." He said.

"So you did this wicked thing and no one knows but me? I didn't realize we were so close in our relationship yet!" Tony mocked grabbing his heart and swooning.

Loki swatted his arm, his hand phasing through Tony, "Keep that up and I'm going to make your hologram rainbow colored."

"Festive. I like it." He grinned.

"Is this the final design for the suit? If so, let us have Jarvis start the painting process so we can have it completed soon."

"Getting antsy about your first ride with the Starkster?"

"God do not call yourself that ever again." Loki groaned, "And no, I just do not have the time to waste."

"Hey, no worries, by this time tomorrow, we'll be ready to go out on a test run," Tony grinned, "And I promise it will be a ride to remember."

Loki rolled his eyes again, "Well if you have this all taken care of..."

"Oh yeah, go get some beauty sleep, not that you need a wink of it." Tony teased.

A faint bit of color brushed over Loki’s cheeks and he didn't answer as he hurried up the stairs and back out of the lab.

Tony shook his head, glad to know the flirt aspect of his personality had definitely made it over intact, for that matter it certainly seemed like the horny as hell feelings had made it over too and they were in full swing at the moment.

He crossed his arms over his chest, "Jarvis, send it off to paint with the current design. Have it ready for me by tomorrow, right?"

"Of course sir." Jarvis answered.

Tony nodded, glancing towards the stairs; Loki was long gone to his room by now.

"Alright buddy, everything set up on the suit?"

"Yes sir. Suit has been formatted with the requested technology to be available to measure vitals, oxygen levels, and to run more detailed scans and generate models of the afflicted areas in Mr. Ruser's body."

"Without a word to him. If he finds out this is more than just a joy ride kind of thing I think he might blow us both up Jarvis buddy."

"You do have that effect on people."

"Ha-ha Jarvis." Tony smirked, shaking his head. Why had he ever though making his AI sassy was a good idea? It had seemed like such a good idea at the time. "Got any other information on the spread of the disease?" He asked. "Latest scan indicates that oxygen saturation levels in Mr. Ruser's body have decreased by 0.25% since the beginning of the week. The area of infection has not spread."

"Alright so some good news with the bad." He nodded, "How are those treatment options I asked you to whip up looking?"

"Still adjusting for a proper concentration to be administered via misting within the unit without being detectable."

"Well keep at it, the only way he's going to let us treat this damn thing is if he doesn't know what we're doing. So, we're just going to keep this between us, alright?"

"Of course sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience! I will be posting chapters every Sunday evening after this. I look forward to seeing you all through to the end! ^_^


	13. Troposphere

Loki couldn't sleep. He lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling and trying to imagine what it would be like in the suit, to fly across the sky and see the world from 40,000 feet.

"Would it be like looking out of an air plane window?" He pondered aloud, already thinking that couldn't be right.

The difference between seeing the world from the belly of a plane and seeing the world from a human sized craft couldn't at all be the same. The shifting winds directly against your body, Loki couldn't imagine what that sensation would be like. He rolled over to look out the window over the sky, just hinting at a warm purple color as the sun began to think about rising, Soon oranges, and golds would rush across the sky until the sun finally cracked, full of energy, but Loki wanted it to be here now.

He wanted to be in that suit. If the thrill of it sent him into an early grave, well that would be alright with him, what a way to go... He stretched and took a few slow deep breaths, for the first time in a few weeks, his chest didn’t feel too tight for his body and that his lungs weren't working anymore. He felt peaceful.

After years of fighting, and clawing for every scrap of air, to just let go was like dropping of a weight that he'd been dragging around with him for a lifetime. The fight was over and all that was left was to try to die with some kind of dignity, or at least on his own terms. Dying in the iron man suit would certainly be a way to go.

He wondered if Tony would even let that happen, or if he'd take him to some hospital. He probably would make an effort to stop it, taking him to somewhere.

He held his hand out and twisted his wrist around, and wondered how the suit would feel on him. Just from examining the individual pieces of the suit, he knew that it was an impressive collection of metal that would probably weigh him down.

With his luck, he wouldn't be strong enough to even support the suit, but Tony had assured him he'd built in extra support so that wouldn't be a problem. Loki certainly hoped so because losing this would be just the latest in a long line of things his damned illness had taken from him.

While he hadn't technically lost his family, it certainly felt like it, with learning that the people he'd lived with his whole life had never been his true family; that they had lied to him year after year. If he'd known about his heritage the first time he'd gotten sick, maybe they would have been able to find a match, to find his real parents...

He shook his head, thinking like that didn't do any good and he was tired of the what ifs of the past still dragging behind like bread crumbs leading him back to inevitable despair. He rolled out of bed, and went down to the kitchen, putting a kettle on the stove and pulling down one of his favorite Earl Grey tea blends and a dash of honey. Well, maybe more than a dash but what was a little extra sugar when you're already dying?

The kettle whistled and he began brewing the tea. He'd have to call his mother again; he wasn't going to disappear without talking to her again. He didn't think he was capable of being that cruel no matter how angry he was. He sighed and watched as the dark brown color bloomed across the teacup and steam wafted up towards him.

He probably ought to talk to Thor again as well, Odin too. He ran a hand through his hair, before shaking his head and taking his tea in one hand and grabbing his tablet to head out onto the balcony. He had dozens of new emails, several from Frigga, a few from Thor, and one even from Odin. He ignored those for the moment and instead just opened his emails from his lawyer, Sif, and one from a local medical college regarding donation of bodies.

Sif had sent an email expressing some concern but when Loki hadn't responded to that, she sent him an email with his latest will and the proper forms to sign and approve to make it his active will. He looked everything over, 12% of his wealth would go back to the universities he received his degrees from, 75% would go to institutes to research the eradication of his lung disease, and the rest would go to his family. His personal belongings he left to his family, aside from Stark mansion, which he still had to determine what to do with.

He probably should discuss what Tony would like to happen to the house since Loki had already ruined his original plan. It was entirely possible even if Loki stipulated it had to stay as some sort of museum and never be used for personal use, there's no guarantee that in 100 years it wouldn't change again and fall into someone else's hands.

He settled on the outdoor patio chair and sipped his tea, looking up to see orange and gold starting to bloom across the sky in broad strokes that covered the sky. He electronically signed everything sent Sif with a note that he still had to update the section on his home and would get back to her before the end of the week. Time was running out to get his affairs in order.

The emails from the university were much more straightforward. Several forms were included to provide information and for Loki to sign if he wished to agree to donate his body to science. He signed away his body without much thought, better someone learn something from what was going to kill him, then it simply rot in the ground.

Frigga wouldn't approve, but this wasn't something that he was not willing to even think about changing. He knew what science could do, what he'd seen it do and he wasn't about to keep that from happening with his own body. He signed everything, checked over them and then sent them back to the university; he also sent Sif a copy just for good measure.

After he died, Sif would be the one having to deal with his family and explain why there wasn't going to be a body to bury. He was sure there was still a way they could do a funeral of some sort, just without his actual body. Sif would figure that out; he was confident in that at least. Loki shook his head, hard to believe he was sitting here having a relaxing morning watching the sunset and trying to work out the finer details of his own death: an unexpected direction for sure.

He put his tablet down and just laid down in the chair to watch the sun slowly rise over the horizon. Everything burned in a quiet stillness, nothing else stirred aside from the sky, and the steam rising from my tea and disappearing into the pale golden purple that rapidly lightened and became more and more blue the higher the sun crested until the last traces of night were chased entirely from the sky and he was left watching the morning instead of dawn.

He set the tablet on the kitchen table and then went back up to his room to shower and dress in the most casual clothes he had, sweatpants and a tank top that had been meant for use when Loki finally was finally going to be well enough to start working out.

He shook his head at that thought, it was hard to believe that he actually had believed he would eventually recover enough to actually work out and get some sort of body back, rather than one made of nothing but flesh and bone, far too skinny and pale. He'd dreamt of getting toned enough to actually be attractive enough to find a partner of some sort.

That thought burned. Of all the things that accepting he was going to die soon meant, knowing that he would never get the family life he'd dreamt of burned the deepest. It was silly, of dreams that meant that nothing anymore because there was no one, and no one in their right mind would get involved with someone sick enough to die. That must explain why Stark was sticking around. He was clearly not right in the head; that much was obvious to anyone.

Loki smiled faintly at the thought of the holographic billionaire. For a hologram, he had all the personality and warmth of an actual person, even if he was an AI. Loki actually didn't know what to think about Tony Stark anymore.

As if on queue, Tony Stark's hologram flickered into the bedroom. He let out a wolf whistle, "Hey there hot shot, looking good."

Against his better judgment, Loki flushed, "I look like some sort of gym rat." "It's a good look on you. You always look like you stepped out of some fashion magazine. It's kinda nice seeing you just look like a normal guy with normal clothes, and not looking like some kind of model or something."

"I do not know what models looked like in your time period, but unless they were pale skeletons-"

"Yep, you've got that look." Tony held up his fingers to frame Loki's face, "Oh and those cheekbones. Think I could cut myself on them.... ya know if I had a physical form that could get cut by cheekbones." He shrugged with a cheesy little grin.

"If you are done being ridiculous, is the suit ready?" Loki asked, but couldn’t hide his smile.

"Hey, I'm not being ridiculous. It's called giving someone a compliment and you should learn how to accept them." Tony tsked, "No manners at all. And yes, the suit is freshly from paint and she is be-you-tiful for damn sure. I'm kinda jealous I didn't get to pilot her when I did have a body."

"But you will still get to control the helm so to speak." Loki countered, "So that counts for something I feel certain."

"We'll see." He grinned, "Come on, let's get going while the getting's good. Morning ought to be better, less wind right now so there won't be so many air currents to deal with immediately." Tony flickered out of view.

Loki adjusted his shirt, still flushing faintly from Tony's comments before he went down the stairs and for the lab. His heart already pounded in his chest, ready for a fight or hopefully flight.

At the bottom of the stairs, his breath caught in his throat as he stared at the full sized suit of armor in front of him. Unlike Stark's armor, this one stood at well over six feet in height, and for a moment it was like looking at a stronger, fuller, more powerful version of his own body, all long, leans lines with no give at all, every plane a hard surface. The green and black melded together flawlessly, and reminded Loki of the way an emerald looked against a night sky.

"It is beautiful." He finally managed to whisper.

Tony appeared with a big grin on his face, "Yeah, it is amazing. You've got a good eye for colors. I'm serious. This looks if Jaguar made a suit, all sexy clean lines. I bet it purrs!"

"A what? A cat?"

"What? No, they make cars. They did... beautiful, fast sleek sexy things."

"You think the suit is sexy?"

"Oh babe, you are so innocent. Hell yes, I think it's damn sexy, now let's see how it fits." He grinned, and stepped forward.

The hologram pressed his hand against the suit and fell forward, disappearing into the suit. At first there was no movement or sound of any sort, then slowly the facial region of the mask lit up with green light, and slowly green lights ignited across the suit, illuminating the whole thing in a warm glow.

"Tony?" Loki chanced a step forward, nearly knocking himself over when there was a hiss and the suit peeled open.

"Hop on in! The suit is great!" Tony called from the suit.

Loki hesitated before stepped towards the suit. "Now you are sure this is safe?"

He asked. "As safe as climbing into a suit can be." He assured him. "You're in good hands, I'll get you home in one piece, promise."

Loki nodded, and swallowed down the last little bit of fear that lingered in his mind before he slowly stepped into the suit and let it surround him. The legs sealed first, adjusting to the proper tightness, it felt like wearing a pair of snug boots, not uncomfortable but clear that something was there pressing just against the skin. Next the hands adjusted over each finger one by one, testing the dexterity with each adjustment. Loki moved his fingers, marveling at the smoothness of each movement, it was like gliding through water, not at all mechanical or awkward.

He tried to relax as the chest and abdomen sections tightened around him, the chest section seemed particularly gentle, each adjustment seeming to only move by a millimeter at a time, always careful and gentle. "Alright, just breathe, the helmet part might freak you out a little." Tony warned before darkness wrapped around his face. He tried to not scream, but the tight, enveloping darkness was nearly suffocating until the consoles on the helmet sprang to life and illuminated the area again.

The display soothed Loki again; it had a monitor of his stats, all a little elevated, but stable, and then flashed up with a video view of the room around them. "Is it always like that?" Loki asked softly.

"Yeah, but you get use to it over time. First times always the worst cause it takes the suit the longest to adjust to your body. After that it's fast. It'll remember exactly how you fit in it, so as long as you don't go losing or gaining a ton of weight this time will be the worst, after this it will only take a few seconds."

Loki nodded, and slowly began moving his arms, those movements too were very smooth, easy to adjust to, and while there was certainly an added amount of weight, it didn't feel overwhelming.

"I did not think I would be able to move. How much does this thing weigh?" Loki asked.

"Ah, a lady never tells her weight. Don't worry, we've got some built in ways to help manage the weight distribution so it's not all riding on you, so that shouldn't be a factor at all. Now, give her a run, let's see what she can do!"

 Loki hesitated, always cautious, before he took a slow step forward. This too was like moving through water, only this time it was harder to manage the movements, requiring a bit more effort than he expected. The step landed heavy on the floor and echoed around him before he stepped again. This time the boot moved easier, "You are adjusting the weight distribution." Loki said.

"Duh." Tony responded; it was strange having the man's voice echo all around him, wrapping around him, "That's what calibrations do, we get everything adjusted so that it works for you. So, keep walking and we'll get it adjusted to a good weight level, alright?" He asked.

"Thank you." Another step slammed into the lab floor, this one not quite as hard as the last one.

Each step sounded less and less like a sledgehammer hitting the ground, and was easier and easier for Loki to move. Soon he was able to move at a relatively normal pace and enjoy the movement of the suit. Moving with that much strength behind his every step sent a jolt through Loki, feeling that strong and powerful... he didn't think he'd ever felt like this before, it was intoxicating and exhilarating, and Loki never wanted to get out of the suit again.

"Okay, I think we've got walking down. Wanna try a run?" Tony asked.

Loki nodded, taking a few deep breaths and testing his speed before starting in a slow run that turned quicker and quicker as Loki bolted around the lab, running easily around the area, nearly knocking into a few of the old suits, but managing to get himself under control. He could hear a few gaskets hissing softly, and adjusting to fix his balance.

"Feeling good?" Tony asked.

Loki laughed, "This is amazing... I feel... I feel amazing."

"Man, I don't think I've ever heard you sound like that." Tony said, "Jeez, this whole suit thing was worth it for that!"

"Can we try flying now?"

"We can give it a shot, but fair warning, we're probably gonna crash a couple times, but don't worry, you'll be fine. Promise."

Something about a promise from Tony made Loki feel safe; he knew he could trust Tony to keep him safe, at least from whatever might happen in the suit. Tony was going to watch out from him while they were here.

"How do I start flying?" He asked. "Okay, first I need you to hold your arms out a little from your side with your palms facing to the ground, fingers wide. Little further from your side, there, just like that. Okay, now you're gonna feel some kickback." Tony warned.

Before Loki could even ask what kind of kickback to expect, he felt it when air rushed over him and he toppled backwards, crashing into the wall behind him as he lost his balance when his hands suddenly shot him backwards. "Okay, that was too much." Tony noted, "You alright?" He asked.

After a moment Loki responded, "Yeah. I am fine."

"No one is questioning your fineness." Tony teased before quickly adding, "Alright, well up and let's try that again with a little less force in those hand thrusters."

Loki slowly got to his feet, amazed at how little he actually felt from the fall, no part of him hurt despite slamming into a concrete wall. He moved a bit further from the wall this time before holding his hands out to his side and spreading his fingers wide again. This time the force coming from his palms was slight, nothing felt out of control.

Slowly Loki felt energy building in his feet. He tried to not tense immediately. "Relax, I've got you." Tony's voice soothed him through suit, and Loki let out a deep breath and nodded.

The energy around his feet increased and slowly Loki felt himself starting to lift off of the ground. HIs first instinct was to scramble in a panic, which sent him off balance and sliding onto the ground and across the floor until he thunked against the wall again.

"Hey, you okay?" Tony asked immediately.

"Yes. Yes, I... I apologize. I panicked." Loki said.

"I shoulda warned you we were about to have lift off. Third try's the charm right?"

Loki got to his feet and put his arms back into position, closing his eyes this time and just focusing on the sensation of power flowing from his body and lifting him from the ground. He could feel his feet become weightless and slowly lifting off of the ground. He finally opened his eyes and watched as he began to hover higher and higher until he was just below the ceiling, looking down at the lab. He grinned widely.

"This is amazing."

"You haven't seen nothing yet." Tony said, "Ready to take her outside?" "

“As long as we stay near the house where we will not be seen." Loki said after just a second of thought.

"Aye, aye captain."

The suit lowered back downwards and landed solidly on the ground. Loki headed back up the stairs, having to awkwardly manage all the stairs with the bulky feet of the suit, no easy task. He found the only real way to make it work was to tiptoe up the staircase and to hope for the best. After a few close calls and near falls, he made it to the main level of the house, and headed out onto the balcony.

Loki let his arms fall to his side and lifted his head towards the sky. Slowly his toes scratched against the ground and began drifting upwards until his feet were free of the ground and the balcony started to fade beneath him. The climb to the sky was slow, cautious in a way that surprised Loki.

He hadn't thought Tony Stark capable of taking anything slow but here he was deliberately trying to make this as easy on Loki as he could. Loki couldn't help tensing and kicking his legs a little as the balcony faded beneath him.

"Relax, relax I've got you." Tony soothed. "Now put your hands behind you, palm out."

Loki slowly did what Tony asked and he felt the energy in his hands flare to life and he began to ease forward, flying off of the safety of the balcony and towards the coast.

"You're sure this is safe?" Loki asked.

"Positive. Besides, even if we fall, the suit's got you." Tony promised him.

Loki nodded, trying to not let his breathing increase too much, when it did start getting a little faster, Loki swore he heard a hissing sound and then the air seemed suddenly easier to breathe.

"Did you... do you have some sort of breathing aid triggered to release?"

"Standard safety feature in all suits." Tony said quickly, "Traveling through the atmosphere and at high speeds means potential for losing consciousness so breathing aids are a must."

Loki nodded hesitantly before relaxing against, "The water is beautiful from this height. It is incredible."

"Yeah, I always liked the view the most in the suit. Getting to see everything from above just kinda makes it seem different, you know? Get to see all kinds of things most people will miss. It's awesome."

Loki smiled, "It is."

"I use to go out and just fly in this thing for fun. Time how fast I could break the sound barrier, how high I could go before icing."

"Icing?"

"Don't worry about that was fixed with the mark 3 I think, maybe 4. But it's not an issue anymore." He assured Loki.

The balcony faded from view as they began slowly down the coast. "How fast can this suit go?" Loki asked.

"What?"

"How fast?" "

I uh... I don't know. Why?"

"Let us find out."

"What?"

"If you plan for us to go out and travel in this suit, that is not going to consist of a leisurely flight across the beach."

Tony laughed, "Only if we're also fighting some models in bikinis and filming a commercial for the Playboy mansion."

"Ugh." Loki rolled his eyes, "But I am serious, let us push this and see what we can do." Loki said, "I will be fine."

"You sure?"

"I am positive." Loki said firmly, "Now, come on."

"Alright, arms in tight, keep the palms just like that. Now, hang on baby."

"Did you just call me-"

The blast to speed took Loki off guard and left him breathless as the suit shot across the beach like a shooting star. The world turned into a series of blurs and colors, shapes not discernable as they rushed by him. He tried to take it all in, knowing there would never be another thing like this; he would never experience this again.

The suit veered towards the water, and Loki let out a shriek of joy as water rushed around the suit, raining back down on him in soft pattering against the suit, like raindrop falling just for him.

He grinned widely, "Amazing."

The suit shot off across the surface of the ocean, "Can I touch the surface of the water?" Loki asked.

"Gimme a sec." Tony said, and Loki felt the energy distribution shift. "Go for it hot shot."

Loki smiled and very carefully dropped his hand to let the fingers of the suit graze against the water ending up more streaks of water that shot rainbows across the area around them.

"This is amazing."

"You haven't even seen the best part yet." Tony said, "Hang on."

Loki jumped as the suit began to turn and started flying higher, up towards the clouds. He tried to not hold his breath, but couldn't keep from wincing as they burst through the first layer of clouds and kept climbing higher and higher though cloud after cloud that all just softly burst around him.

"How high are we going?" he asked.

"Only about 25,000 feet. That's enough to get you one hell of a view and to be sure that we're not going to run into any kind of plane or something. Well at least not a big one." Tony's voice was light.

"Run into a plane!?"

"Sh babe, and look down."

Loki slowly looked down. From up here the water looked like a series of sapphires, and emeralds all thrown together into a massive pile of stones that shifted and shimmered under the sun. The waves were calm and the still rising sun reflected the world back bright and beautiful in a way Loki hadn't seen it in ages, probably not since he was a very young child.

"Tony, this is incredible." He whispered.

"Yeah, I know right?" Tony laughed, "I never get tired of this. People used to ask me all the time what my favorite part of the suit was, and I'd always you know say the laser rockets or the propulsion guns but this...this view has always been the best job perk of being Iron Man."

"The hours are crap and the work is back breaking but the perks are worth it?" Loki asked.

Tony laughed again, "Yep, that's in the official Iron Man code of conduct you'll have to sign before you go on your first official mission."

"This is not my first mission?"

"No way, this is a test to make sure the equipment's all working right and to get her calibrated, and to make sure all the controls are good. This one is a little different than my suits for sure, but I think it's going to be pretty easy to get the hang of. How's it feeling?"

"Honestly? It is incredible. I feel...powerful." He felt dumb using that word but there was no other way to describe this feeling. This feeling of no longer being helpless.

Tony laughed, "Well that's a good sign then right? Feeling powerful's a pretty damn good feeling just don't go all Godzilla on me and start trying to stomp buildings and stuff."

Loki smiled, "How high can we go?" He asked.

A few calculations began running in the helmet's HUD, looking over the suit and the atmospheric conditions.

"We're not ready for space travel, but we can get you up to a pretty damn nice view. You ready?"

"Please." Loki slowly adjusted his positioning and felt the thrust of the boots and his hands shift to start sending him straight upwards.

The clouds began to part around him and the sky opened in bursts of blue, purple and gold as the sky began to swirl around me. His breath caught in his throat as he rushed into a looming layer of clouds that wrapped around him like a blanket before he finally burst through them and continued climbing further and further up. The world beneath faded into blocks of shapeless colors that melted into a whirlwind of shapes that Loki couldn’t even distinguish anymore. A laugh started to bubble up in his throat, getting louder and louder as they spiraled further and further upwards through the sky.

"So going up through the atmosphere is what it takes to actually get you to laugh?"  Tony said, "I guess that's why I don't hear you laughing around the house too much, huh?"

"That is not the only way I will laugh." Loki protested, "I laugh for other reasons."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

Loki found himself stumped. When was the last time he had really laughed like this? Laughed just because he felt so happy he couldn’t contain it all. He couldn't even remember but it felt like it must have been a very long time ago. Maybe when he was a child he'd laughed like that at something ridiculous that Thor had done, and then they both had probably gotten in trouble. Thinking of Thor and of a life before he knew the truth about his parentage killed the laughter in his throat.

"Hey now, don't start looking all glum again, we're not even to top height yet; we've still got plenty of space to cut through. I can't get you to the stars exactly, but I can get you pretty damn high. Hold on." Tony said as the boost in the thrusters increased and Loki felt himself lifting faster, the ground, the sky and the water beneath him all blurring into a single shape made of streaks of color like a painter dragging her watercolors across the world and letting them all blend together in a mess filled with chaos and beauty.

"Did you do this a lot?" Loki asked.

"Fly straight into the sky?" Tony asked.

"Yes."

"Only really once. When I first got the suit and went out for a test run. I wanted to put her through her paces and part of that was seeing just how high I could go, well I went as high as I could and then some. Near about splattered into the highway, but managed to thaw out the thrusters enough to save my stupid ass. Fixing that icing issue turned out to be a real saving grace later." He said.

"You mean with your first real fight in the Iron Man suit?"

"I don't know if you want to call that my first real fight. It was more my first fight with something like the suit, only not anywhere near as elegant and finely tuned as my own model."

"Of course not."

"Hey, I'm not just saying that because of course my creation was better. It really was just a piece of crap that shouldn't have ever even been made."

"But you were betrayed."

"Yep, and I'd really rather not talk about it, alright?"

"Fair enough. Forgive me for prying you are somewhat of a legend nowadays. I am never quite sure what is fact and what is fiction when it comes to the Stark legacy."

"Well, anything good was probably grossly under estimated and anything bad I'm sure was terribly, grossly over exaggerated. That ought to help sort out the truth from the lies, right?"

Loki laughed, "Oh of course. So legends of the number of models you slept with have been widely over reported?"

“I don't know if that counts as something good or bad. Bad probably so I'm going to go with over reported, yes. After the reactor all that changed anyways, so let's go with most of those are probably lies."

"Even with male lovers?"

“I only ever really slept with two or three guys in my whole life."

"At the same time?" Loki said, horrified.

Tony sputtered and laughed, "Oh my god no. Can you even imagine trying to keep up with that many appendences? God where the hell would all the hands even go? How would that even work four guys at once? Huh...."

"Do not burn your processors out trying to access gay orgy porn please. At least not while we are in flight. I would rather not plummet to my death with Butt Pirate 7 on the display screen."

Tony laughed harder, "Butt Pirate 7?"

"What? I am sure there is some pornographic film by that name that likely features multiple men." Loki huffed.

Tony just laughed.  Loki felt the blush crawling up his neck. He wondered if Tony could actually see him inside the suit or not. It was a little weird thinking about the suit being Tony and it being wrapped around him in every possible way. He shook his head. That was a very, very bad path to start walking down and Loki was not in the mood to get himself in that much trouble.

"What are you doing? How long are we going to go up?" He asked.

"We're just about to the breaking point where we're going to start icing."

"I thought we weren't going high enough to cause any actual icing issues." Loki protested.

"We are just going high enough until it starts icing, not to the point of failure, relax. I know what I'm doing." Tony assured him.

"Yes, well after you told me that you once went high enough to freeze the suit badly enough to nearly crash your suit into the ground forgive me for not having an overwhelming amount of confidence in your abilities to not freeze us and send us plummeting to our death."

"Hey that was one time, and I've flown loads more times than you so how about you relax and just-"

A little red warning flashed across the helmets HUD. "WARNING: Left foot thrusters at 20% power. External freeze warning."

Loki glared at the screen, "Stark..."

"Calm down." He said as the suit sputtered, and then the left thruster in his boot gave out completely and Loki felt himself starting to fall. He braced, not really sure what the best protocol on losing altitude in a suit would be. How hard would he hit the ground? He tried to start running over the calculations to determine his terminal velocity. It would certainly be at a fast enough rate to kill him on impact, not even the gold alloy that Tony Stark had created could stop the effect of mass hitting the ground at roughly 120 miles per hour.

"Hey, don't check out on me!" Tony's voice cut through his mental equations, and he blinked back to reality. "I need you to correct with your right leg, center it and put your arms out. We can slow the descent enough to give the thruster time to get back on through the ice. Come on, Loki I need your help here!"

Loki nodded even as the world plummeted around him and the ground rose up to meet him. He tried to imagine he was just doing yoga at 30000 feet going over 100 miles an hour. Flying mountain would be a good name for this pose.

“Just balance and try to keep yourself upright” he told himself, managing to get himself somewhat stabilized so at least he wasn't just somersaulting through the air without any control at all. Now, with his arms wide and his legs carefully centered beneath him, he felt a little more in control even if the ocean beneath him was rapidly coming into detail, no longer just a shapeless blur beneath him.

"Tony..." Loki held his breath as the caps of the ocean, vibrant white against the dull blue grey of the water came into crystal clear focus and then, he felt the thruster fire to life and he shot forward, rushing through a wave crashing down on him. The water flew around him, and Loki laughed again because what else was there to do?

He let his fingers graze against the water that parted around him and then turned his body in an arc back upwards and back towards the clouds.

"Whoa there hot shot, I think that might be enough for today, maybe we should head on home."

Loki sighed softly, "So soon?"

"Hey, this was just a test run to get the flight patterns stabilized. We still need to make sure all the other parts work, oxygen tanks, yadda yadda."

"You mean the life support items were not confirmed before we went out?" Loki asked.

There was a moment of silence before Tony's laughter sputtered across the speakers, "OH man, I wish I had been recording that! THAT was the best face I have ever seen. I've never seen a look so clearly say go to hell before."

Loki glared towards the screen. Well that answered that question, Tony Stark could see him while he was in the suit. "Are you watching me or where we're flying?"

"Both. I am a master multi tasker. How else do you think I built all that cool stuff I made in my lifetime?"

"I imagine having a billion dollar company helped with making many of those items that otherwise would not have been created."

"Yeah, but they all came from me first and then other people just did the blueprints I laid out. I made the groundwork and everyone else just followed the instructions."

Loki rolled his eyes, "It is amazing there is room for me in this suit with how large your ago must be."

"Oh you haven't seen anything large yet."

Loki tried to keep his flush under control, "You are a crude pervert."

"If you're just now realizing that then I'm starting to doubt how people define geniuses in your time period."

"Ha-ha." Loki snorted, shaking his head, "Fine, we will head back towards my home, and dock the suit. Will it need to charge?"

"Yeah, these batteries are just testers. It's going to take some time to put together an actual reactor to power it with." He said, "Say, did those every catch on?"

"Reactors?"

"Yeah, like the arc reactor."

"They did but several of the iterations had terrible leaks from the palladium. It turned into an environmental nightmare for many people." He said.

Tony sighed, "Damn. Here I thought I'd at least leave one good thing behind me when I kicked the bucket."

"It did make a tremendous deal of progress and led the way in clean energy for a number of years, especially after AIM started using the technology."

"AIM?"

"They're the lead scientific creation business in the global market. They make almost all of the air and water purification filters, and ensure that everything is safe for human consumption."

"Sounds like a lot to work on."

"They're a huge organization. They actually started coming to power shortly after your death. They merged with Hammer Industries and well, they almost put your company out of business, But Miss Potts might be the best CEO in the history and she saved the company, but after her death well... Stark Industries really became more of a non profit than a business anymore."

Tony was silent.

"You must have already known." Loki said.

"I knew enough. I pretty much shut down everything, I wasn't running around through the mainframe waiting and watching. I was dormant. I only got activated because you started fiddling with codes."

"Well why did you even put yourself into code if you didn't plan on using it." Loki asked, "What were you planning?"

"Well... you know I don't really know. I wasn't even sure the thing would work, but here I am." Tony said.

"You just on a whim decided to see if you could create a holographic sentient version of yourself?" Loki asked, "You really expect me to believe that?"

"I've done weirder. You forget I am the one who made the Iron Man suits and had an arc reactor in my chest, let's just say I tend towards try it out first and then see what happens, you know, leap before you look? Run before you walk? I've never been one for that sort of caution."

"I just think you had to have a plan when you did this."

"Look, I didn't want to die and leave all of my suits like this. I knew I didn't have time and I didn't want to leave the suits open to being used. I figured even if nothing else, I would be able to protect them from beyond the grave. It was a last ditch plan to keep my suits safe."

"So you did not even know for sure if it would work?"

"No. I had a pretty solid idea it would because I mean I am me, and I am a genius so I knew something would work, I just wasn't sure to what extent it would preserve me."

"Well, I have to say I think it did an admirable job preserving you."

Loki could hear the grin in Tony's voice, "Aw shucks, you know just the sweetest things to say to a guy."

Loki coughed, "We will be landing back on the balcony yes?"

"Yep, just like you're landing a jump. I'll adjust the thrusters so we don't hit too hard. First time I did that I crash through every floor of my house."

"I imagine that was a learning experience."

Tony laughed, "I'll have to see if Jarvis still has the footage of the first few trial runs I did. Let's just say there was a whole lot of error and not a lot of success on those first few runs."

Loki smiled, "I think I would quite like to see these videos."

Tony laughed, "Oh, I bet you would, jerk."

"I see the house." Loki said, watching as the balcony of the house came into view over the crashing of the ocean around him. The HUD unit highlighted on the balcony and Loki felt the direction of the thrusters’ shift and his trajectory start to change and become more downwards but at a softer angle. He tried to not resist and flail even though it started to feel like he was falling.

"Tony!"

"Relax hot shot, I've got you." Tony's voice soothed and Loki tried to relax and trust that Tony Stark wouldn't deliberately hurt him. The evidence certainly supported that. Despite the pranks and toilet blowing up incident, Tony had not made any motions to physically harm Loki, and in fact had already saved his life on at least on one occasion.

Loki took deep a breath and let himself drift and then let the thrusters lose their force and slowly he fell landing with a heavy thud against the balcony. The ground seemed to shake beneath his feet but the balcony held steady.

"Ta-da!" Tony chimed, "A first run success. We make a pretty good team, huh?"

"Yes, I think we do." Loki agreed, "Now Tony?"

"What's up?"

"How exactly do I get out of the suit now?" He asked.

Tony laughed, "Well we need to get back down to the lab, I've got a set up there to get it off of you. How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine."

"Not light headed or short of breath or anything?"

"What? No, my breathing is fine. You can monitor all of that from the suit can you not?"

"Yeah, but I can't gauge like your comfort or anything like that." Tony countered, "Just checking in on you. Looks like we're a go for future excitement, huh? You and me out fighting crime? Oh, what do you think the media will call you? Iron Man 2: The Return?"

"If I were a bad B-movie sequel perhaps." Loki rolled his eyes.

"Hey, compared to the original...."

"I imagine they will likely just call me Iron Man, no need to change the name just because the person inside has changed, right?" He asked.

"Well I guess not."

"And technically, not even the pilot has changed since you are still the one mostly in control of the suit. So, how does it feel to be called Iron Man again?"

"God, that sounds really good." Tony laughed, "Damn, I didn't realize how much I'd missed it. Getting out there and actually doing something. So now we just need a big bad guy right?"

Loki laughed a little, "Well, unless you want to fight against air pollution, and water contamination, there are few big bad guys just wandering the streets and twirling their moustaches while laughing and tying to women to train tracks."

"Oh ha-ha." Tony snorted, "What a shame."

Loki laughed, and started walking very slowly through the house. Making slow, normal movements in the suit was challenging and Loki had to tiptoe down the stairs and back into the lab. The HUD unit lit up and highlighted a platform where Loki carefully made his way onto it and slowly metal arms snapped down around the boots of the suit. Slowly several other mechanical arms whirred up from the floor and began the process of removing the armor. It moved relatively quickly, each part removed and tucked away out of sight in a matter of moments.

"Now that is a strange experience." Loki said as the last of the armor was pulled off of his leg. He tumbled backwards off of the platform and caught himself on the nearby table.

"Not use to being stripped?" Tony asked as his hologram reappeared at Loki's side, leaning casually against the table.

"Not in the least."

"Aw, you've been missing out."

"On the joys of being stripped by machines? I think that is a sensation I could have gone my entire life without experiencing thank you very much."

"Well then I'm even happier to have given you that experience." Tony grinned widely.

Loki rolled his eyes and shook his head before stretching out, his muscles were tired, and even though he knew he hadn't really been carrying the full weight of the suit this entire time, his body ached like it had been.

"I think I might be ready for a nap already." He said as he stretched out his shoulders.

"Yeah the first couple of times in the suit probably will wear you out. It's kinda rough." Tony admitted, "But it'll get easier every time you wear it, pretty soon you'll feel great even after a couple of hours in there. Well maybe not great... but you won't feel awful."

Loki laughed, "Well that certainly is promising." he said as he headed towards the stairs, "I will see you in the morning Tony. Do try to not catch anything on fire while I am sleeping."

"Damn there go all of my plans for the day." Tony snapped.

Loki's laughter drifted up the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again everyone! I actually have all of String Theory written so this will be completed! I promise! <3


	14. Aromaticity

Tony watched him as he disappeared up the steps. He heard the sounds of Loki making a cup of tea in the kitchen and then heading up to the master bedroom for a shower then bed. He shook his head. He shouldn't know what Loki getting ready for bed sounded like but it somehow was a sound engrained in him now.  
He focused back on the lab. He had work to do.  
"Alright Jarvis, give me the data we got on Loki during today's flights. What are the stats?" He asked, rubbing his hands together.  
"I have gathered the patterns of breathing and oxygen consumption that Mr. Ruser demonstrated during the suit runs, and am attempting to replicate the patterns for your study."  
"Damn, you're good Jarvis."  
"Thank you sir. Displaying model now."  
A 3D replica of Loki materialized in front of Tony, breathing in short, and sharp puffs of air. Tony frowned; his oxygen levels were low, his blood not getting as much oxygen as it should be. He pinpointed the first moment the suit deployed a reserve of oxygen, and then how many times after the oxygen was used. Seven times during the entire flight which had lasted about 45 minutes. He was going to have a hard time keeping up that sort of oxygen level when they really started to get into any strenuous situations.  
He sighed, "What do you think of adding some level steroid dosage into the oxygen when it’s deployed”  
"Sir?"  
"Steroids. I'm betting there's some inflammation in his chest that's making it harder for him to get in oxygen. Adding in a little bit of steroid ought to help with that at least."  
"Sir?"  
"Jarvis you're repeating yourself. Run some tests and let's figure out a level so we don't send anyone into a roid rage, alright? We need just enough to help loosen up whatever's keeping him from getting enough oxygen."  
"Sir, you wish to add steroid to the Forest Fire serum also being administered?" Jarvis asked.  
"Yep. Sure do."  
"Should we not consult Mister Ruser about drugs we are administering to him?"  
"Ah, nope. Look, he's convinced he's going to die, and I don't think he'd let me even try to save him, so let's give it a go. If it works then he'll be alive and if he's angry fine. If it doesn't work, no harm done."  
"Yes sir, but-"  
"Jarvis, let's not fight. I hate fighting with you."  
"Of course sir. I will run a few scenarios to determine which one is the most likely to create a positive result."  
"Perfect. I'll check in in just a few." Tony said as he flickered out of the lab and slowly rematerialized in the bedroom. Loki was already sound asleep, curled up in the bed under about a half a dozen blankets. He didn't understand how anyone could sleep with that many blankets on them. He should be burning alive, but Loki looked perfectly happy exactly where he was.  
Tony shook his head, and sighed, as he leaned back and tried to not pay attention to the way Loki's hair started to curl after a bit of time. So those long, straight black locks weren't natural, huh? Tony smirked faintly. He settled in beside the bed and watched Loki sleep until Jarvis paged him back down to the lab with a few trials to run through.  
After running through the models several times at varying levels of dosage, Tony, for once, decided to play it safe and start with the lowest dosage that still produced a result.  
He was lost in his work, arranging how to get this new set of oxygen-laced medicine into the suit when the doorbell rang.  
He frowned. Who the hell would be coming over in the morning. Loki didn't seem like the real social type, and he couldn't think of anyone wanting to come by. 

 

XXX

 

Loki groggily woke at the sound of the doorbell. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his tea before, half asleep and with his tea cradled in his hand, he wandered to the door, blinking bleary eyed at his coworker standing at the door.  
"Morning Loki." He said.  
Loki frowned faintly, "Victor, what are you doing here?"  
”I was just checking in on how you’re doing after that whole hospital stay things. And to apologize for dragging you into that whole mess.”  
“Victor, it’s 9 in the morning and I really-“  
"I also might need some help with Ultron."  
Loki frowned, looking over his coworker at his door. “I told you to not tamper with that.”  
"Can I come inside?" He asked with a smile, "It's a little cold out here."  
Loki glanced at him, and sighed. “Fine. Of course, pardon my manners, I am not use to company." Loki said as he opened the door and let his coworker inside.  
He looked around, and Tony had the distinct impression he was looking for something specific. If Tony were still a betting man, he'd bet almost everything he owned on him being on the look out for the Iron Man suits, as though Loki would have those just displayed along the walls of the entry way.  
"Water?" Loki offered.  
"Coffee if you've got any." He said with a smile.  
Loki nodded, "The living room is right this way." He led the way to the living room and let his coworker sit on the couch before he went into the kitchen, "You are the first person bold enough to just show up at my door since I left work."  
“Well, I feel bad about how sick you got.”  
“And yet here you are again asking for my help.” Loki said.  
Loki poured some coffee into a mug and walked over to him with a bit of sugar and cream on the tray with the coffee.  
Victor grinned widely, "You are like an old fashioned twentieth century gentleman."  
"So what exactly is it I can do for you?"  
"I just think that there's a great potential to use AI to manage more operational systems."  
Loki sighed, "Victor…"  
“I know you’ve said you don’t think giving total control to the AI is a smart decision, but I’m sure I can change your mind.”  
"I am very sorry to say that I am quite the stubborn man and my mind is not easily or readily changed. If that was all you came here to discuss, then I would rather save us both a great deal of time and energy-"  
"So the Iron Man suits don't count as an AI technology as far as you're concerned? How was using that suit to get you to the hospital any different than giving the AI that runs the air purification system a body to update and maintain itself?"  
Loki took a deep breath. He knew those questions would be coming, but he still wasn't quite ready to come up with an answer. He looked down at his tea as Victor poured in a bit of cream and three sugars into his coffee.  
As he started to stir, Loki finally spoke. "That was not a command I created nor an AI I was aware of that performed those actions, and since my return home I have worked to try to stop that from becoming a recurring issue." He finally answered, grateful that lying was second nature to him anymore. All silver tongue and golden words to dazzle.  
"So you've gotten rid of the Iron Man suit?" He asked.  
Loki said, "I was unaware that it still existed and as soon as I was able to pinpoint its location I ensured it would not activate on its own again."  
Victor frowned and Loki could tell that he didn't quite buy the story.  
"So what? You just got rid of it? You're lying Loki." Victor said, coffee forgotten in his hands.  
Loki looked Victor straight in the eye, "What use would I have for the suit?"  
Victor laughed, "Oh please, you would want to take it apart every way possible and then try to piece it back together. You'd want to know how it worked from the inside out. You wouldn't just get rid of it."  
"The world does not have a need for the Iron Man suits." Loki said softly.  
"We both know that's not true." Victor shook his head, "This is bull Loki."  
"You are the one coming to my home while I am home ill, harassing me. If all you wanted was you question me about the Iron Man suits you should join up with the paparazzi and change your line of work Victor." Loki snapped, getting to his feet and walking back into the kitchen. The chip in his neck hissed softly and Loki took a slow deep breath.  
A few moments later, Victor was following him into the kitchen, "Look Loki. I just want to help."  
"Victor, I have no interest in studying the suits. I have no interest in doing anything but ensuring I recover." Loki sighed softly. The lies were tiring him.  
"Well if you would just let us get Ultron set up than we wouldn't have to bother you."  
Loki shook his head, "Absolutely not. That program is not stable enough to be let loose, it has the potential for mass chaos and destruction if not kept tightly in check."  
"That's why we set up fail safes Loki. Come on, there's no AI that could outsmart you so why are you so afraid of this one?"  
"I'm not afraid of it. I just know that our technology is not ready for something like that."  
"Loki, Ultron could watch the refineries and if there are problems, activate worker bots to come in and fix it without any person ever having to come into contact with the problem."  
"And what if it activates the bots in error? What if the bots create a bigger problem? What if Ultron misdiagnoses an error? There are too many variables that we cannot control. It has too much of a potential for problems. I do not think it is the cure all that you and AIM seem to think it is." Loki said, shaking his head.  
"You are the only designer I know that would make something that could totally revolutionize the world and then not let it proceed into development."  
"Because I know when a flaw is too big to just ignore. Ultron has too much of a risk factor and I will not agree to let it be activated."  
"Well what if we implement some of your other programs? Hel or Fenrir? Those could act as fail safes!"  
"Fenrir would destroy everything in the air refinery program and Hel would shut the refinery down for 24 hours. Do you know how devastating that would be to the areas immediately around them? People would die Victor."  
"It just seems such a waste to have this technology and not be able to use it."  
"Perhaps when I am feeling better I will take another look at it and try to find a way to make Ultron usable. Perhaps with a system that is less vital to life around the globe than the refineries."  
"You're not going to change your mind on it Loki. You're the most stubborn man I've ever met and I don't see that changing."  
Loki smiled faintly.  
Victor shook his head, "So, how long until you can rejoin the team?"  
Loki sighed softly, "I am unsure. The last hospital visit has....delayed my return. I will try to make sure my lack of return will not put t the group too far behind."  
"Just so you know, as soon as you get back, Maya is planning on asking you out."  
"What?" Loki stared at Victor.  
"Just word around the coffee table."  
Loki shook his head, "Was that all you needed Victor? Because if that is it, I really am feeling very tired and would like to get some rest."  
"Right, course." Victor nodded, "Let me grab my things." He stepped back into the living room, and pulled his things into his bag and pockets.  
"Sure you don't want to activate Ultron?"  
"Victor. I do not think I could be clearer about my position on Ultron. I will never give my blessing for it to be used."  
"That's what I figured." Victor sighed, "Alright, well get well soon."  
"Thank you, and please do not stop by again." Loki opened the door for him.  
Victor offered a wry smile as he stepped out of the house and back to his vehicle.  
Loki closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. That was another thing he needed to figure out. What to do with his own tech to ensure that it was not used improperly after his death. He suddenly knew how Tony must feel worrying about the suits all the time after his death. He ran a hand through his hair and went to toss the coffee and finish his tea.  
Victor stopping by was strange. The man wasn't known for social visits so that meant that he was getting pressure from above, which made sense. There had been an overwhelming amount of interest in his Ultron project ever since Loki had first conceived of it and mentioned it. But the project hadn't succeeded. It had exhibited far too much autonomy to be considered safe by any standards. Loki had actually had to point to the fact that he was an outside contractor and therefore AIM did not have rights to Ultron to prevent it from being used. AIM wanted to unleash it through the refineries as an AI management system, but Loki had managed to pull it before he'd had to leave on medical leave, but it looked like AIM was still after it.  
"You threw him out faster than I thought you would." Tony said.  
"Really? You thought I would entertain his proposal?"  
"Nah, but I thought you'd at least let him finish his coffee. You seem like a guy with that kind of set of manners."  
Loki smiled faintly, "Generally yes, but when people attempt to force me to use my research for their own purposes, I really don't see the need to entertain that any longer than the bare minimum amount of time required, which is just the amount of time it takes to get rid of them."  
“And here I was thinking it was going to be someone bringing by your ready made set of new lungs and a fresh set of immortality!” Tony snapped.  
Loki snorted, "No. We can regrow most vital organs, but humans still die, and diseases still kill people. More resist the antibiotics we have so much that there must be a constant supply of new antibiotics or else diseases would wipe the globe. Most of the technological advances have been towards ensuring that the air and water supply stay clean. There is some real concern about the quality of air and water staying high enough to sustain life."  
"That's why there's all those generator things, right?"  
Loki nodded, "Yes. There is an air purification facility every thousand square miles to ensure air quality, but there are areas where there should be more, and when an air purification area fails... there can be disastrous consequences very quickly."  
Tony nodded, "I gathered. So every thousand square miles huh?" He whistled, "That's a helluva lot of places to keep up."  
Loki nodded, "Yes. The company I work for is the one who maintains them. I was the one who created the AI that runs the air filtration system."  
"Damn, so that's how you could afford to buy my place up."  
Loki smiled faintly, "One of the reasons. Yes, that position does entail quite a paycheck, but the hours... well let us just say 24/7 availability is just the beginning. I had to be able to fly to any facility in the world with a moment's notice."  
Tony smiled, "So what you're saying is that you are well equipped to be a superhero?" He asked.  
Loki blinked then laughed, "I suppose so. If those are your requirements than I guess by those standards I do qualify rather well. Does that give me bonus points?"  
Tony grinned, "Oh, you were a teacher's pet weren't you?"  
"What? I was no such thing!"  
Tony's grin grew wider, "Oh I bet you were. Always answering questions and asking for extra credit."  
Loki glared, "Oh and I suppose you were too?"  
Tony laughed, "God no. I was the worst little brat of a student you'd ever want. I knew everything and I knew my name held power so I'd wave that over people when I was in school. Didn't spend too long in school because of that. Found it pretty boring until I got into the PhD level stuff, then that was mildly interesting at least, learned a few new things."  
"I imagine growing up around your father's technology did mean a lot of early discoveries and information that you already knew."  
Tony nodded, "Yep. Learned more from dicking around in my workshop than I ever learned in any kind of school."  
Loki smiled, "I imagined that was the case."  
"How much useful information did you actually learn in school? Have they gotten any better since I was there?" He asked, crossing his arms and leaning over to look at Loki.  
Loki finished his tea. "They taught me many things, but like you, I went through quickly and with a great deal of boredom. I learned how to interact with people when necessary, and I learned that much of success depends on the people you know rather than the quality of your work."  
Tony shrugged, "Now that was something I never had to learn."  
"Ah yes because Stark always was the name of the established power, but I imagine you had many people who attempted to get themselves into your good favor just to use your family's name or resources."  
Tony smiled, "Bingo. Made it damn hard to trust anyone, only people I really ever had were Rhodey and Pepper." He shook his head, "So yeah, all about who you know, but god forbid you're a somebody." Tony shook his head, "Then all you ever have are vultures surrounding you, your whole damn life."  
"That must have been an unpleasant way to live."  
Tony snorted, "You've got no idea."  
"I might have a slight one." Loki smiled faintly.  
"Oh yeah and why's that?"  
"Odin. He is quite the figure in modern times, known for his sterling political career and astounding military record, something that my bro…" Loki cleared his throat, "His son, Thor, is following behind in nicely."  
"But you never went that way huh? I can't see you as a military guy, even though I bet you'd look amazing in that uniform."  
Loki half glared at Tony before turning back to his now empty cup of tea, "No. I never matched the expectations attached to my name. And I was reminded of that quite frequently by those around me, especially those who did not even know me or Odin."  
Tony nodded, "God I can only imagine, sounds like that'd be like me not going into building things... people wouldn't know what to think."  
"I always wondered what happened, and why I wasn't like my father and brother. I just assumed that I must have taken after Frigga more than Odin, but now," he shook his head, "It makes sense that I didn't take after either of them because I share no blood with either of them."  
Tony didn't know what to say, and once again he wished that this hologram body was capable of a touch cause God Loki looked like he needed a hug, and even though Tony Stark had never been a real huggy type of guy, he wanted to help Loki.  
"Well, that worked out pretty well for me. You being a total genius really panned out, huh?" Tony finally said, "And I bet you people aren't going to think about Odin's family the same way after you, blood relative or not. He's going to have to make sure that the rest of his family lives up to the legacy you made. That's pretty damn impressive I say." Tony offered a smile.  
Loki looked at him for several long minutes before a slow smile worked its way across his features, "Thank you."  
If Tony still had a physical heart, he was sure it would have just fluttered all the way across his chest and found a new home in his stomach. This was bad. He didn't realize that whole still being sentient thing meant the possibility of feelings jumping in to cause new problems. Cause as hot, smart and snarky as Loki was it was like looking in a fun house mirror and seeing someone tall, dark and entirely inviting staring back at him. He wanted to go on that ride.  
He shook his head, not a good train of thought to be running down. "So what’s this Ultron thing?" He asked Loki.  
Loki sighed heavily, “It was a pet project I worked on. Advancing the very basic AI I currently have in the air cleaning systems with something more robust. It would be capable of diagnosing problems and fixing them, only requiring minimal maintenance."  
“Building yourself out of a job it sounds like.”  
Loki smiled, “Maybe in a way. Though that wasn’t my intention. I just wanted a way to make the job less all the time.”  
“What kind of issues do you run into?”  
“Oh God, too many. Ultron began rewriting the programs and pinpointing areas to change. Not something I needed it to be doing. An AI updating its own code is recipe for disaster. It kept trying to increase optimization, and find ways to minimize pollution in the air. One of its suggestions even called for wiping out the population in the surrounding area!”  
“Wipe out… So your AI turned from guardian to terrorist in about 15 seconds?”  
“More like over the course of a week and its calculations were right. If there were no human population then the pollution levels would plummet.” Loki shook his head, “It’s too dangerous. I scraped it and brought it home with me. Maybe one day I can figure out a way to fix it, but right now it’s too unstable.”  
Tony nodded, but his mind was already trying to work over the problem. How did you fix an AI like that?  
"Whatever you are thinking, stop." Loki frowned.  
"I'm just thinking about how nice it is to have breakfast with you." Tony said with a cheesy grin.  
Loki rolled his eyes, "Yes, clearly that is exactly what grips your thoughts. You really are a rather dreadful liar."  
"I'll take that as a compliment. Don't you worry about what I'm thinking about. I'm gonna go run a few tests on the suit, and go over the data from our first flight."  
Loki stood up. "I will be back down to the lab to aid with your data later."  
"Take your time, it's not anything that's particularly difficult." Tony waved his hand.  
"I did not say it was challenging. I just want to see the data based on the flight." Loki said, "Now, do not blow up anything while I am not there."  
Tony grinned, "Aw, well at least you didn’t tell me I couldn't set anything on fire." Tony said as he faded out of the living room. Loki's laughing echoed all the way to the lab with him and left a warm sensation in his chest.  
“Alright Jarvis,” Tony said as he headed into his lab, “Let’s get back to work on the little’uns, shall we?”  
“Pulling up the files now sir.”  
He'd started working on project ‘little’uns’ just before his death, and if he'd had just a little more time he could have…He shook his head, no time going into the coulda, would, shouldas, that boat left the dock and sailed around the world already. There was no going back to port in the same shape.  
He looked over the information again. Nano machines the size of a red blood cell planted into the body following the body's orders but repairing and optimizing it. Like the body but with bionic enhancements, he'd always envisioned it as putting a suit in his blood so his organs were protected too. He'd hoped that with them he could remove the reactor and maybe not die of palladium poisoning, but for once he never even got the chance to recklessly test his theory.  
It still amazed him that the hologram program had worked. It'd never been tested, never been even looked at again after Tony had created it and hidden it away in the archives of ghost files hidden in Jarvis. It was never suppose to be activated, but then again, if that were really the case why the hell had he even done it?  
He shook his head, "Because you didn't want to die dumbass." He muttered to himself. That was easy enough to see. He'd been scared to die and when he'd found any possible way to even kinda stick around, he'd clung to it with everything he had. He wanted to live forever, or at least long enough to get to do more work.  
No time to linger on that. "How's data collection on Loki going?" Tony asked.  
"Well sir. I have a fully rendered 3D model of Mr. Ruser's life functions and internal scans."  
Tony nodded, "Could you start scanning for a hologram model?" He asked softly.  
"Sir?"  
"I want you to start taking scans for Loki to create another hologram. I'll take care of the programming, but you just collect the data, and pull from data you've already compiled."  
"Sir? Shall I request Mr. Ruser's cooperation with this?"  
Tony bit at his lip, "No. Not right now Jarvis. Let's get this thing going first and then I'll break it to him. It'll be fine."  
"If you say so sir."  
Famous last words if Tony ever heard them.


	15. Granulation

Chapter 16  
Loki shook his head and threw his phone down onto the bed before going to shower and trying to let the hot water wash away his unease at Victor’s appearance. This constantly bothering him while he was on medical leave just reminded me how much he hated the hours his job forced him to work. It was never enough. And now, here he was dying and still being asked to work.   
Well he’d be damned if they got Ultron from him.   
He ran his hands through his hair, working over the knots that had gathered there. He probably should have showered right after spending all that time in the suit, getting sweaty in tight corridors like that hadn’t seem quite that bad at the time, but now, he could feel it on his skin. He'd have to ask Tony how to best handle that.   
Knowing Tony there was probably a shower built into the lab somewhere, though he wasn't sure how he felt about showering in the lab. Despite the fact that Loki knew he owned this house and everything in it, the lab still felt like Tony’s, and Loki wasn't sure what to think about showering in Tony's space.   
It felt a little bit like asking for trouble to shower down there. Though what kind of trouble, he wasn't sure about. Tony was a hologram, so the worst he could do would be to watch or make some snide comment about how thin Loki was, or to mock the scars on his chest from the surgeries.   
He shook his head and let the water rain down and wash the soap out of his hair. Tony wouldn't laugh at his scar, or mock his body. Tony Stark was many things but Loki didn't think he would be that sort of cruel or a bully like that. No the worst that would happen would be that Tony wouldn't say anything cruel or taunting but would say things more soft and flirtatious that Loki wasn't really sure he wanted to hear those kind of things at all. He didn't know how that would that would progress and he wasn't sure he wanted to.   
He tried to push those thoughts out of his mind, getting a crush on an intangible hologram of a man who lived over a hundred years ago was probably one of the worst ideas Loki had ever even entertained, and he had come up with some truly awful ideas in his life. He took a deep breath, and finished his shower in silence, trying to just let his thoughts be washed away with the water. It was not an easy task, but Loki didn't want to give in and even entertain a notion as crazy as that.   
Once he finished his shower, he wrapped up in a towel and took his time drying off, "Jarvis, keep tabs on AIM I want to know any big announcements they make in the next few weeks."   
"Of course sir." Jarvis responded.   
Loki ignored the screens popping up around him as he dressed in some simple sweatpants and a t-shirt with a hoodie over it. The temperature was getting colder and colder, and lately no matter how high Loki turned up the heat he couldn't seem to get warm. “Jarvis, also beef up security walls to ensure no one can log in and access any of my information."   
Depending on how long ago Jarvis' security codes were last updated, it could be a very easily hackable system. Not the older information, like the information about the suits or the coding for Tony, but the newer data could easily be breeched. "I am an idiot." He muttered to himself, not realizing that his information on these old data systems would be like low hanging fruit just waiting to be plucked.   
"Yes sir, updating all firewalls and security measures."   
"Put all of my information under the same protection as your files regarding the suits, and do not allow any external access from sources that you do not recognize, is that understood?"  
"Of course sir, I will ensure that your data is secured."  
"Thank you," Loki sighed, "Is Tony ready for me in the lab?"   
Jarvis was silent for a few seconds again and just before Loki was about to ask again, just to ensure Jarvis had heard him when Jarvis finally answered, "Yes sir, you may proceed down to the lab to review the data from the test flight."   
Loki nodded and headed down into the cool lab. He pulled his hood on over his head and sighed softly at the sound of the rock music blaring.   
"Stark…"   
"Yeah, yeah, I'm changing it. Jeez, you're like a granny with your music taste."   
Loki smirked, "Actually you are like a granny with your music taste. Most grandmothers in this day and age quite enjoy their...whatever it is you call this racket."   
"Oh, do not call AC/DC racket again."   
"Or what?"  
"Or I'll just re introduce you to their lovely songs at 4 in the morning."   
"And send me into an early grave?"  
Tony laughed, "You are a bonafide asshole."   
Loki grinned, "The accent keeps most people from figuring that out." He admitted.   
"Well I'm onto you Mr. Darcy."   
"Well there certainly is enough pride in this room for that tale."   
Tony shook his head, "Alright, before we get trapped in some kind of asshole off, let's go over some of this info."   
Loki nodded, and walked over to Tony, leaning over the console and watching as Tony pulled up all the data from their flight, and then he pulled up a video of the HUD’s point of view, watching the world fly by again. Loki couldn't stop the smile that spread slowly across his lips and lit up along his body at recalling that sensation of power, of being in control for once in his life.   
XXX  
That smile took him off guard. He'd seen Loki smile, well more like smirk, dozens of times, but every time he smiled it felt like the whole world had just opened up for him. It was like watching an experiment exceed better than he could ever imagine, like watching two particles perfectly meld together: beautiful and Tony couldn't look away.   
Loki was thankfully preoccupied looking at the screen of information and not noticing Tony gawking at him. How could a guy like Loki, smart, cute and rich be single? Then again, despite Tony's own record, he wasn't exactly known for his steady partners, despite also being devilishly good looking, smarter than everyone else, and rich, not to mention a philanthropist and just all around humble guy. Some people just didn't have luck when it came to love and it looked like Loki was cut from the same cloth.   
Loki didn't even have a Pepper or a Rhodey. So far as Tony could tell, Loki was entirely alone aside from his now estranged family. No friends had come visiting (aside from that one work asshole), no one called, or emailed (he kept an eye on Loki's information and communications for curiosity’s sake). While Tony might not have had the romantic life he'd always envisioned (though he wondered what would have come with Pepper if he'd live a little longer… but she was certainly too smart and too good for him.) Tony hadn't been alone at least. When the world came looking for blood, Tony had known he could always count of Pepper and Rhodey to stand by him, or when he really did do something monumentally short sighted, he could count on them to let him know in no uncertain times that he had screwed up.   
Who did that for Loki?   
He looked at Loki more closely, according to Jarvis, the only incoming calls Loki had were from his mother, his lawyer, or about donating his body to science. He only made outgoing calls to his lawyer or the said body donation thing. So where were his friends?  
"So, when are we going to have the big party to celebrate you being a superhero?" Tony asked.   
"I beg your pardon?"   
"You know the party where you reveal your secret identity."   
Loki arched a brow, "What?"  
Tony sighed, "Jesus, you that opposed to a party?"   
"I told you I do not do parties." Loki said, "I do not know how much clearer I can be."   
"I just don't get it. How'd you get through life without anyone to invite to some big shindig?"   
"Just because you would hold parties simply to see how many people would arrive does not mean that is everyone's idea of a good time Stark."   
"Oooh, I'm back to Stark. That means I've pissed you off." Tony grinned, "I know that tone."   
"You do not."   
"I do." Tony laughed, "Jesus you've been in this house long enough for me to know that when you start calling me Stark you're mad."   
Loki shook his head and looked back to the data, "So, it looks like towards the end we found the best adjustment for the thrusters to maintain maximum control. I will need to work on my control and finding the best positioning to ensure optimal movement." Loki said, "Now, what sort of weapons are you planning to add?"  
Tony sighed, "See I don't really like the whole weapon thing-"  
“Your suit had ample weaponry on it during your life. Are you going to send me out into whatever this is without a means to defend myself?"  
"Well, the repulsors can work as a great defensive measure, but no I'm not going to force you to go out there without something to defend yourself with. Stop thinking I'm going to betray you or something."   
"Then what are we doing?"   
Tony sighed, "I don't know yet. What kind of weapons training do you have? Ever even fired a gun or anything like that?"  
"I have fired guns before when I was younger."   
"Laser tag doesn't count."   
"What? I have fired guns. I have been to a shooting range several times, and have taken a few years of Tai Chi."   
"Alright, so something light." He said after a moment, "Something easy to use." He tapped his chin, "Alright, I'll work on some modifications."   
"You are not going to tell me what you are doing are you?"  
Tony grinned, "Consider it just a present."   
"A present?"  
Tony grinned, "See, that's one thing I've always been good at doing. Giving things to people. It never really is things people want but I can give people things all day long and that I'm great at."   
"So you just throw things at people until you hit on something they like?"  
"Not like... You make it sound bad."   
Loki shook his head, "Alright, I do not want to argue or insult you." He sighed, "My apologies."   
Tony nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, thanks."   
Loki bit at his lip and turned back to the diagnostics. "How long did it take you to really figure out how to use the suit?" He asked after several moments of silence.   
Tony said, "I told you, it wasn't overnight. Maybe I'll pull up the footage of my first few attempts, that ought to get a pretty good laugh out of you."   
Loki nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips, "Do you think-"   
"Mr. Ruser, a Mister Victor is calling for you. He says it's urgent." Jarvis chimed in.   
Loki sighed, rubbing his temples, "You cannot be serious." He sighed, "I will accept the call Jarvis."  
"Loki, look, I know I just saw you, and you're out on medical leave but I just-"  
"Do you really know that Victor? Because it seems like every single person has forgotten that. Why are you calling me after I just asked you to leave my home?"  
"Look, we've tried everything we can but the air refinery just outside of San Francisco is going into failure and we can't figure out why. The AI won't respond to our requests."  
Loki pinched the bridge of his nose, "And you have exhausted every option that I left with the department? Every single one?"  
"We've tried everything at least twice, not even the paradoxes are slowing it down. It's still running but it won't respond to any command we throw at it. It's like somehow the program is able to completely ignore us."   
"That should not be possible at all. Are you certain you-"  
"Loki, I swear, I wouldn't be calling you if I could think of anything else to do, but we have tried every option we've got. We even cut the power but the self-sustaining generators kicked right back on. If we don't get the AI back under control the air in the San Francisco area is going to turn uninhabitable in a matter of hours. Do you know how many people could die if that happens? There's not enough time for a full evacuation."   
Loki groaned, looking over at Tony who was pointing to the display of the suit on the screen.   
"Fine Victor. I will meet you at the San Francisco plant in an hour."   
"An hour? Don't you need transportation-"  
"No. I have it under control. One hour and I will see you then." Loki ended the call, "What are you suggesting Stark?"  
"Ouch, still Stark." Tony grabbed his heart, "Cuts deep."  
"We do not have time for games."   
"Jesus, it's super obvious isn't it? Use the suit, that will keep you safe from whatever air contamination is going on and let you get close, not to mention, let you take me and Jarvis with you to figure out what's going on."   
"I appreciate the offer for help, but I have been working on AI for a number of years without your aid and have done just fine."   
"Hey, I'm offering help, not trying to steal your credit or anything."   
"That is not what I was suggesting."  
"Then why the hell are you bristling like that? You look like you're about to start hissing at me at any moment."   
"You keep attempting to coddle me."   
"I what?"  
"I know you are not meaning to do it, but just because I am dying does not mean I need you to hold my hand or attempt to take care of things for me. I am still perfectly capable of-"  
"Hey whoa, I was never trying to do anything like that, just-"  
"Help out. I know. I appreciate the help, but I do not need to be coddled."   
"God, you are a stubborn ass." Tony groaned, "I am literally just trying to help you not die and you're seriously complaining that I'm coddling you?"   
"I am saying that this is my job, handling this AI is my job and I am very good at it, and that you do not need to come along to help me with that."   
"I'm not coming to try to help with whatever your job is. I am just trying to keep you breathing and you know alive!" Tony snapped, “but if you want to go in there without the suit-"  
"Do you really think I can just appear in the suit and it not cause massive headlines and issues? I have been denying that this suit exists ever since you delivered me to the hospital. Do you really think I can just show up to do some work in it? I just told Victor I did not have access to it!"   
Tony frowned, Loki had a point, but... "What does it matter? Let them talk; let them speculate. You need the suit for this Loki. Not because it gives you access to my dazzling insight but to help you keep breathing dumbass."   
Loki frowned, "....fine. Otherwise you are going to do something to my home in my absence and I would really rather not have to clean up a major disaster here." He rubbed his temples.   
Tony smiled, "I knew you would see sense."   
Loki rolled his eyes, "Let me change clothes and then we will settle into the suit and head for the air refinery plant."   
"Aye, aye, cap'n!" Tony gave a mock salute.   
Loki shook his head and headed back into the bedroom to change.


	16. Orthostatic

"Alright Jarvis, got those doses ready to administer?" Tony asked as he quickly got the suit ready.

"Yes, everything is prepared."

"Perfect." Tony grinned, and slid his way into the suit, ready for Loki to rejoin him. He tried to not think about the fact that he was just about to pull Loki close to him. The suit wasn't the same as his physical body. He didn't have a physical form anymore.

Loki headed back down the stairs and once again, Tony thought it should be illegal for anyone to be able to look that good and put together when wearing just sweatpants and a t-shirt, cause Jesus that was not even remotely fair at all.

Loki gave a soft gasp as the suit tightened around and fit around his body. This time the fitting process went much faster and more efficiently and Loki took a deep breath, frowning at the faintly metallic taste of the air, but then again when encased in a metallic suit what else would the air taste like?

"Are the air filters working at optimal levels?" Loki finally asked as he awkwardly walked out of the lab and up the stairs and back to the balcony.

"Everything looks good on my end." Tony answered after a moment, "I'll check it more when we get back."

"Yes, but the air filter is a vital piece of equipment right now." Loki said as he positioned on the balcony.

"Look," Tony flashed some stats on the screen, "Everything is operating at 100%. I had Jarvis do some cleaning everything out, getting the salt particles from the ocean out so it might just smell a little different. It'll clear up soon." Tony promised.

Loki frowned but nodded, "Alright," He gave Tony the coordinates for the San Francisco plant. "What's the fastest route there?"

"Just let me lead the way." Tony said as the suit's repulsors powered up.

Loki tried to not tense up but he couldn't help it and was already starting to think that he would never be totally use to the sensation of lifting off the ground, feeling his body slowly lose all contact with a solid surface until it was dim memory under his soles.

Tony guided the suit up and once they were high enough, Loki adjusted his arms to his side, starting to get the hang of the best positions for traveling.

"See? You're gonna be a pro in no time." Tony laughed as the suit increased power output and shoot across the sky.

It was much faster this time, not slowing down at all or taking it easy as they shot through the air. Loki just tried to hold on, and let Tony guide him as they moved through the air currents, finding the best ones to keep them moving forward with as little resistance as possible.

"The air resistance on this is incredible." Loki finally said.

"Hell yeah. If you're gonna be in the air you've got to worry about aerodynamics, especially since there's not so much surface area."

"I never assumed the human body would be an incredibly efficient shape for travel."

"Yeah well no one would think the bumble bee can fly just by looking at it, and we all know how wrong that is." Tony countered. "We'll be to good ol' San Fran in about 15 minutes."

"Thank you." Loki said, looking over the map. "Any new information from Victor?"

"Nope, he hadn't made a peep since you hung up on him at the house." Tony said, "Nice touch by the way."

"It was not a 'touch'." Loki scoffed, "I am on medical leave and this is the third time Victor has come calling about work. It is a little excessive at this point. Medical leave is medical leave, not being on call."

"That's what happens when you're the smartest person in the room huh?" Tony laughed, "Never get a day off cause you're the only one who can fix whatever new problem has popped up. I use to try to take vacations... well I'd more just get so drunk I was too unconscious to answer when someone called with a problem. Didn't work very well." He added.

"I imagine not."

Tony fell silent and Loki wasn't sure what to say so the rest of the flight was almost in total silence. "The air is already looking cloudy out here." Loki frowned as they got closer, "How far out are we?"

"We're about 2 miles from the location you gave me. Yeah, readings out here don't look good. This air is rank. Is it really this bad all over?"

"It is all but unlivable at this point. We have to keep it purified or else we would most certainly suffocate." Loki said, "Ah, I see the base. Now... Tony, will Victor be able to hear me talking to you in here?"

"What? Aw, no babe. Our heart to hearts are safe from prying ears. Don't you worry."

"But I can still speak to Victor, correct?"

"Yep, I'll get your voice projected out there."

"Thank you." Loki said as the HUD unit locked onto Victor at the base of the reactor and carefully settled to land near him. Loki spread his hands out and bent his knees as he landed, a bit hard on the metal platform. It groaned faintly but held steady, and Loki let out a deep breath.

"So I didn't realize you'd be really bringing in the armada so to speak." Victor peered out from one of walkways. "Was starting to think you weren't going to show." He was dressed in a full suit with a mask over his head to filter his air.

"I said I'd be here. Let us get to the main console." Loki said.

"Right." Victor headed down the walkway and Loki clanged after him.

"So you really do have access to those suits?" He asked.

Loki frowned, "That is not important right now."

"I think it's a bit important. Where the hell did this come from Loki? You said there wasn't anything of value at the mansion and then you just waltz in with-"

Loki pushed past Victor and into the control center. Thick smoke was starting to roll around them in heavy, noxious waves. Loki frowned and looked over the console, "Tony, can I have my hands free to work on this?"

"You got it." Tony said, and a few seconds later the metal around his fingers began to slide backwards until his hands were free and he could more easily access the keyboard and start looking through the computer's programming. Everything looked right and without any obvious errors appearing immediately. Loki frowned, this was wrong. He couldn't even see where this scale of an error could be happening aside from an actual conscious effort by the AI system and that was a terrifying thought. If these AIs were becoming aware and attempting to destroy themselves than they were in deep shit so to speak.

Loki swallowed hard and finally hesitantly started to pull up the code of the machine itself and dove into it. Everything looked exactly like he had left it, how he remembered it but then, as he was scrolling through the screen a strange single line caught his attention. He frowned and read it over again, that was not something he'd added in or any update he was aware of. He frowned and focused in on that line, pulling it out and expanding it around him.

"Allow me." Tony cut in and let the code run across the HUD in front of Loki's face.

He blinked, "Ah thank you." Loki read over it several times, it didn't seem to make any kind of sense, and just created a strange loop that demanded everything be kept at 100% at all times or the program would just start over. "What is this?" Loki frowned.

Systems running at 100% was the ideal of course, but not everything could be 100% at all times, there were times when more power had to be diverted and other systems had to run at lower levels to even it out. If the system was trying to run everything at a constant 100% than it was literally burning its core to bits by running in a perpetual circle of rebooting and restoring every single program over and over, and that would keep it from monitoring the levels of pollution and even its core temperatures, which were already dangerously high.

"Who the hell put this in?" He frowned, and went to work on the keyboard to subvert this command that had been put into the AI's central role.

His first task was to sever the connection to the command; a clean quick slice brought that bit of coding out of the mainframe and onto its own server.

As soon as the connection was severed the system rebooted and immediately error messages began appearing and the AI set to work addressing the problems.

"Air Refinery San Francisco, begin repairing most critical areas first and then work your way down to areas of least critical function. Air quality restoration is your top priority. Do you confirm?" Loki asked.

For a few seconds, Loki held his breath.

"Voice not recognized." The system responded.

Loki cursed under his breath and glanced around, Victor was nowhere in sight. "Tony open the face mask."

"What? Do you not see all the smoke out there? No."

"Tony, I have to give these commands without this voice distortion of speaking through the suit. It will only be a matter of seconds."

Loki could feel Tony's hesitation, could feel the metal of the suit itself hesitating around him, not wanting to open, but finally they gave way and the facemask popped open.

Loki coughed as the first puff of smoke hit him. "Restore air quality immediately as first priority. Confirm." Loki forced his voice steady despite the choking smoke that rushed over him and nearly stole all the oxygen from his body.

"Confirmed command by top rank Loki Ruser. Air quality restoration top priority."

The face mask slammed back into place over his face without Loki even uttering a command and cool, still metallic tanged air circulated around him, but he didn't care about the strange flavor of the air so much as just trying to catch his breath. Each gasp felt thinner than the last and Loki was starting to think he might pass out. Then the cool rush of air around him intensified and suddenly he could breath easier without feeling like he was trying to catch his breath under water.

"Babe? Babe!?" Tony's voice was too loud against his ears: a welcome noise.

"I am alright." He wheezed out. "I am okay Tony."

"Jesus, the next time I say something is a bad idea, will you just-"

"It is fine. I did what had to be done. Thank you for your help." Loki took several more slow breaths before the world stopped swimming in front of his face and he started back over the system, now able to isolate where the problems where and send automated repair bots out to work on the issues, already the air purification rate was up 5% and within a few more hours it would be back to normal.

Loki sighed, "There. It is fixed. Help me find Victor and then we can get out of here and go home."

"Aye aye." Tony responded, and the gloves slid back over his hands and Loki felt the suit take over moving, and for once, he was alright with it.

"Loki, what's-" Victor stepped out from his area and approached Loki.

"Returning to base." Tony spoke before Loki could answer, "Issue resolved."

"What? Loki?" Victor looked confused, his brows furrowing.

Loki opened his mouth to say something more but then the suit was starting to power up and soon took to the air, leaving Victor staring up after it before he rushed back over to the control unit.

"I could have talked to him," Loki murmured, still feeling breathless and light headed even though he no longer felt like he was trying to catch air in nothing but a butterfly net.

"Yeah, well there wasn't really a reason to stick around it. You did it, you found whatever was weird and nearly choked yourself out doing it."

"A necessary risk."

"Yeah, right. And you wonder why I wanted to be here."

"I would have been fine." Loki snapped.

"Right superman. You were exposed to the air for about 15 seconds and already started struggling to breath. I'm not real confident you would have made it even up to the control panel without the suit."

Loki grumbled something.

"What was that? Sorry I don't speak mumble."

"I said thank you." Loki repeated, "You were correct. I misjudged how much I would struggle with the poor air quality. I should have been more cautious, so… thank you."

Tony tried to ignore the thrill that ran through him at hearing those words. "Yeah well, I like having you around so let's not try and do that whole crash and burn thing any time soon, alright?"

Loki nodded, "The air in here still has a strange odor to it."

"Maybe it's you stinking up the systems."

"Oh ha-ha Stark."

Tony smirked as he watched Loki roll his eyes.

"How gentlemanly of you to suggest that I smell."

"Well you know I'm a nice guy, and I just didn't know how to bring it up." Tony teased.

The sky around them bloomed a bruised deep purple with streaks of grey still dotting the sky and cutting across the orange of the sunset.

"Damn is it really that late?" Tony groaned.

"Had a hot date tonight?" Loki asked.

"Oh ha." Tony snorted, "Yeah, a hot date with Jarvis where we do each other algorithms all night. It's really sexy, we've got the firewalls there to really set the ambiance of the moment."

Loki snickered then dissolved into a full rich laughter that rumbled into his chest. The sound of his chest rattling sent any enjoyment of that laughter right out of Tony. Whatever was eating Loki from the inside out was moving fast and Tony was starting to worry that even his steroid dosed oxygen wasn't going to be enough to slow it long enough for him to sort out the nanites.

They made it back to the tower and Tony led the suit straight up to the bedroom to deposit Loki straight into his bed. Loki didn't argue, just closed his eyes and took slow, wheezing gasps for air.

"Hot shot, you okay?" Tony asked as he watched each breath send Loki's too thin chest up then down.

Loki nodded, "Just need a rest for a bit."

Tony nodded, "I'll put the suit up and have Jarvis start some chicken noodle soup or something."

Loki didn't answer, just kept his eyes closed and focused on his breathing. Tony couldn't watch for too long before he finally forced himself to start moving and hurried down the stairs and back down into the lab. ."Jarvis, what's the latest data? What's going on?"

"Steroids were administered via oxygen units within the suits for the duration of the trip."

"And what are the results?" Tony asked, pacing back and forth.

"Current status is unknown. Administered effects could take days to fully manifest, and could still-"

"Jarvis, give me some answers here bud. What were the stats going into the suit versus leaving it, improvements?"

There seemed to be a pause before Jarvis answered, "Upon entering the suit, oxygen levels in Mr. Ruser's bloodstream were at 87%."

"And when he got out of the suit just a second ago?" Tony asked.

"Blood oxygen levels upon exiting the suit were at 85%."

Tony froze, "What?"

"Blood oxygen levels appear to have dropped during the duration of the mission."

"How is that possible Jarvis? You're giving him an upped dosage of the steroids and oxygen right? That should be... that should be making everything better. He should be getting better, why isn't he getting better?" Tony scrolled through the data, letting it run past his eyes, all the charts, all the levels and changes, all the dosages over time and the effects. How was it that this wasn't helping? Did he screw this up too?

He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, "We're not gonna let him die, you got that Jarvis?"

"Sir, I-"

"Do you got that Jarvis?" Tony repeated.

"Understood sir." Jarvis said after a moment.

"Okay, we need a higher concentration dose. Are any of the nanites ready?"

"Sir the nanite technology is largely untested and still not cleared for human use by any of the-“

"Is it ready?"

"…Yes sir, it is at a stage where it would be possible to introduce into a live human patient." A pause, "I will ask Mr. Ruser if he-"

"No."

"No? Sir, I have to disagree, we need the consent of-"

"Loki has made up his mind to die. Do you really think he's gonna agree to some experimental treatment that might help and that might have totally unknown side effects? Come on Jarvis, get real. No we need to find a way to introduce us into the blood stream without Loki knowing."

Tony tugged at his hair out of sheer habit, "But what? Alright, what about we need some blood to help better match the suit to him so that it only responds to his body chemistry. Oh yeah, that's good Tony." He nodded to himself, hurrying over to the keyboard and starting to input that information before he looked over at the nanites information. "It's perfect. He won't even be able to say no."

"Say no to what?" Loki's voice sounded and Tony froze. 


	17. Supernova

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare theyselves for the first naughty scene. DUNDUNDUN.

Tony swallowed hard and looked up, flashing a nervous smile, "Loki, hey! Thought you were calling it an early night."   
"I thought that I ought to help get the suit put away." He said, stepping all the way down to the lab and walking over to Tony.   
Tony glanced at the screen, and the data he had up there scrambled.   
"Tony..."   
"What?"  
"What are you doing?" Loki asked.   
"Nothing."   
"Tony…"   
"Jesus you sound like my mother. Relax, it's nothing-"  
"The fact that you want something 'I can't say no to' does not sound like nothing to me. What are you doing?"   
"Just working on a few projects. Nothing big." Tony tried to put on his biggest, soothing smile, the one that he'd used on Pepper countless times. It never seemed to work on her and Loki didn't seem much different.   
"You are a terrible liar."   
"That is ridiculous. I happen to be an amazing liar. Not that I'm actually lying right now, but if I was you wouldn't even know it."   
"Stark."  
"Why do you call me that when you're pissed?" Tony asked.   
"What?"  
"You always call me Stark when you get pissed or annoyed at me? Why is that?"   
"Because Stark rolls off the tongue so much easier than “ridiculously obnoxious self absorbed asshole.”" Loki snapped.   
"Oh ouch, you do have a way with words, huh?"  
"Stop trying to change the subject. What is going on? What are you hiding?" Loki crossed his arms.   
Tony bit at his lip, "It's not a big deal, really. I just have been... still working on a way to help you, you know, not die."   
"You what?"  
"So I've just been taking some scans while you're in the suit, trying to see if I can find any patterns or notice anything strange or out of place." Tony talked quickly; telling some of the truth was better than coming up with an entire lie. Loki'd see through that instantly, but this... "So I just was feeling a little weird about not having your permission to be taking these kinds of scans, but I'm hoping that you'll come around and not be able to say no." Tony flashed a smile.   
"You are scanning me?" Loki asked.   
"Yeah, the suit lets me take scans while you're in various levels of stress so I can see the reaction and impediment of that growth all the better. It's really been helpful in mapping it out."   
"Why would you-"  
"Well, I'm still hoping I can use this to find a cure and fix you up right as rain but I suppose if I can't figure something out than this data would be pretty handy for groups of scientists to study. I know you talked about donating your body to science, but this will let the people who study you see how your body moved and how the lungs worked. It'll be better than just a corpse. But I'm still hoping to keep you around for a while. You'd make a pretty corpse but you're better off sticking around with me I think." Tony shrugged, and looked away.   
There it was again. That weird feeling in chest reminding him that he didn't want Loki to go anywhere, whether that was leaving the mansion or dying. He wanted Loki right here all the time. That was a weird feeling; he'd have to check his coding later.   
"So, where are you storing this data?" Loki asked after several long moments.   
Tony relaxed faintly, well at least Loki wasn't immediately jumping into shouting and screaming and telling him to piss off. That was a good sign, right? "It's in my private memory banks."   
"So only you have access to it?"  
"I can grant access to others, but yeah. Why?"  
"I would rather like whatever data you have recorded to not make its way into the hands of strangers. I do not need the entire world knowing that I am dying. I am not planning that large of a funeral."   
"Ha-ha." Tony rolled his eyes, "Alright, I will have Jarvis start doubling up on the firewalls, and-"  
"I want to create a new firewall for Jarvis. Your technology is outdated. Let me update the security measures at least around my data. I imagine whatever is locked in your head is relatively secure but anything else..."  
Tony frowned, and tried to not get too offended at the concept of being outdated. If after 100 years he wasn't outdated, he'd be a little concerned that all progress had died with him (though to be honest it probably had).   
He finally nodded, "Alright fine. You can work on some security measures for your personal files, and you know for Jarvis as a whole." He said. Last thing in the world he wanted was someone able to get in and dig around enough to find any of the information about the reactors or the suits.  
Loki nodded, "Thank you." He walked over to an empty work console and started typing.   
Curious, Tony casually stepped over to him and just watched him work. How long had it been since he'd just taken a step back and let someone else do the work? Watched someone else take the lead on a project? How long had that been? God, probably since Tony's dad let him sit in the workshop every once in a while.   
He quickly shook that memory away, damn, he'd hoped becoming virtual would somehow erase all those pesky memories of Howard but here they were still clear as day and waiting to punch him in his virtual gut again. He sighed, "So tell me exactly what is outdated about my system?"  
He recognized that glint in Loki's eyes and then the thin genius starting talking, gushing and bubbling over with ideas.   
It was beautiful.

XXX  
Loki poured over the recordings Tony had granted him access to. Seeing the mass in his lungs interact with his body as he moved unnerved him. It was one thing when it was some abstract that he knew existed, but to see it moving, pulsing and thrumming in the same rhythm as the rest of the body. It felt more like some monster had made a home in his chest and was waiting for the right moment to pull out the knife and finish gutting him.   
In a sense he guessed that was probably accurate, eventually this thing was going to finish killing him. He flinched when he watched his lungs struggle to expand, struggle to take in air as the mass restricted movement. His chest tightened just watching the replay of that moment when he had been so sure he was about to die right there in the suit. He could still feel that darkness, blank of everything, resting at the back of his mind: a reminder of what was bound to come soon.   
He shook his head, "This footage will be helpful for future studies." He finally said, glancing at Tony.   
The hologram man watched him closely, with brows furrowed together and a strange expression on his face.   
"Something wrong?" Loki finally asked.   
"What? Oh, nothing, just tired."   
"You know that line works better when you are a physical creature capable of feeling tired." Loki smiled lightly.   
Tony chuckled, "It's nothing. Just working over some problems."  
Loki nodded, "Anything I could assist with?"   
"Not right now, but hopefully you'll be involved soon." Tony finally said.   
"Hm," Loki nodded, and absently watched the scans keep playing before he asked, "When I die, what would you like done with the mansion?"  
Tony froze, "I'm sorry, what?"   
"When I die, what would you like done with the house?" Loki repeated. "I am meeting with my lawyer soon and should be able to specify what should be done with the mansion when I am gone. I thought you might like some say in it."   
"You're not going to die." Tony blurted out.  
"I would not have pegged you as an optimist by your history," Loki turned to hop up on the counter to sit down, and face Tony.   
"Look, you're not gonna die so we don't need to worry about this."  
"Yes we do." Loki motioned to the screen, "If you have been studying those scans at all you can tell it has gotten bigger since my visit to the hospital. It is growing quickly. I likely have less time than originally guessed, so we do need to determine what to do."   
"You keep telling me it's your house but now you want my opinion?"  
Loki smiled very faintly, "Let us just say you have grown on me." He wasn't sure what else to say, how did you say that you enjoyed spending time with someone who wasn't even really physically there, how did you say you liked someone who had been dead over a hundred years? How did you tell a hologram any of that? Even one that was a sentient smart ass.   
Tony grinned, "Aw, you're gonna make me get all misty eyed."   
"Somehow I doubt that." Loki laughed, "But I am being serious, stop avoiding the question. What do you want done with the house once I am dead?"   
Tony sighed, "Hell if I know. My original plan didn't work out so well anyways. I just lucked out that you bought it and not some total nut job."   
"I am glad I pass the not a nut job test." Loki grinned.   
"Look," Tony ran a hand through his hair, "I don't know, alright? My original plan that it be turned into a museum doesn't seem to have worked so well since you were still able to buy it so I don't know if it's worth even going down that road again."   
"Then you would have the house destroyed?"  
"De...destroyed?" Tony stared at Loki, "You serious?"  
"If you are that concerned about the technology ending up in the wrong hands that would be the best way to ensure that no one can use it for anything you wouldn't approve of."   
"Yeah but that'd be getting rid of everything."   
"Is that not the point?" Loki asked.   
"Yeah but that would be me, Jarvis, the suits... Dum-E..." Tony shook his head, "I don't know."   
Loki frowned, "You don't know? You've been locked down for years, and wanted to ensure that your technology was not used but you are not sure?" Loki stared at him.   
"Look, I know it sounds crazy but... It's not like I didn't want anyone to ever know about my technology. I mean if someone could have used the reactors then you wouldn't even need those air purifiers any more cause the world would be on clean energy."   
"And how did you expect that to happen when you locked away most of the information about the reactor in your technology that you hid from the world? How in the world did you think that was going to work? People were just going to magically find that information that you hid?"  
Tony shook his head, "Look, I wasn't exactly planning on dying when I did, alright?"   
“And I am offering you the chance to fix that now! You just have to tell me what you want me to do.” Loki tried to keep his voice level.  
“And I’m telling you I don’t know!”   
Loki clenched his fists, “You are ridiculous! You have the chance to do your death over! To release your information! Your details on the reactor could improve our own reactors! Your suits could help us-“   
“Those suits are not going anywhere.” Tony cut him off.   
“Fine, I will set Jarvis to destroy them upon my death.”   
“What? No.”  
“You cannot keep them locked up forever. They either need to be used, be studied, or they need to go. Nothing stays secret forever.”   
Tony sighed, and tried to pull at his hair. “Just give me time.”   
Loki shook his head, “You have time, but I am not going to be around forever.” He finally turned on his heel and left the lab, ignoring the broken look on Tony’s face as Loki stormed back to his room. 

Loki immediately started up a hot bath. He seemed to keep finding himself in them after 'fighting' with Tony though he wasn't really sure he could count that as a fight more than it was just Loki losing his cool and yelling at Tony about things that had happened years ago. He knew Tony's death wasn't totally planned. Tony Stark might have had a bit of a suicidal streak but Loki had a hard time believing that the billionaire planned to go out with a bottle of whiskey in his hands and half a dozen projects still in the wings.   
Loki sighed and ran his fingers through the soothing green bubbles of the bubble bath. The warm scent of eucalyptus wafted around him, and the steam made him feel like he could breath easier for the moment. He pretended everything was fine, that life was normal, and that he wasn't dying, or living in a house run by AIs that outsmarted him on a regular basis. But he had to admit he'd grown rather fond of the house and its built in inhabitants. Jarvis was incredibly helpful (when he was under his own control and not going rogue thanks to Tony) and Dum-E was charming in his own neurotic way. And Tony Stark...  
His heart did that strange somersault in his chest, and he swallowed hard. Tony Stark was an asshole, but one of the most interesting and fun guys Loki had ever met. He'd never really been able to date much (if ever), because his work tended to consume him, and when you start asking your date questions to better figure out how an AI should work than really trying to get to know the person, word spreads pretty quickly and leaves to some trouble. But Tony...   
Tony was a puzzle made up of technology Loki still didn't fully understand, wit that matched his own, and more attitude than Loki would have guessed for a man well over a hundred years old. He made Loki laugh, and want to pull out all of his hair. He drove Loki crazy, and he wanted to spend all of his time with Tony. He felt like Tony Stark was a massive star that had just swung into his orbit and now Loki was twirling around his gravity, trapped in a new pattern that felt familiar as he orbited around the new center of his universe.   
But that was just silly talk.   
Tony Stark was not a star, and Loki was not a planet, and this was a bad train of thought for Loki to be going down. He sunk further into the water.  
He wondered what Tony had really looked like when he was alive. The hologram did a pretty good job but the image was still transparent and obviously a fake, but the real person?   
Loki closed his eyes and let a deep breath. Tony Stark had been known as one of the most handsome men in his lifetime, and the world's most eligible bachelor. A shiver ran down Loki's spine as he imagined Tony in his prime in his lab, covered in sweat and working on the suit, welding together the pieces, tearing it apart and putting it back together again.   
That shiver ran all the way down his spine and started to pool in his groin. Loki froze for a second, God, he was fantasizing about a hologram, a new level of low in his life, but he couldn't keep the images from rushing across his mind.   
Tony Stark shirtless and drenched with sweat beading down his chest, and across that fascinating heart of energy in his chest. Loki's hand slowly wrapped around his half-hard cock and he gave himself an experimental stroke. The moan shuddered out of his lips, louder than he intended.  
Tony Stark in his prime, in the flesh. Loki knew that Tony was a known playboy, and that before being captured in Afghanistan, he'd been known for having numerous one night stands. Loki knew Tony would be far more experienced than Loki's two or three fumbled, awkward times having sex. But the thought that mesmerized him was imaging those hands working him over like he was some machine, learning everything about his body, every nook and cranny and which spots made Loki crazy.   
Tony was at his heart, a mechanic. Loki wanted to know what it would feel like to have those hands, callouses and all running over his body, taking him apart and then putting him back together.   
His breathing got heavier as his hand began to move faster, gripping himself roughly and imaging Tony Stark's hand on him, building him up towards this heaven of pleasure Loki had not felt in years.   
His free hand ran across his chest, pinching at his left nipple and groaning louder at the flash of sharp pain running across his body like an errant shooting star. His voice started to coil in his throat, somewhere between a moan and a groan.   
His hips rolled slowly into his touch, slowing down again, wanting to draw out this sensation, draw out this imaginary lover touching him in a way he knew he would never experience. He pinched his nipple again before letting that hand start to slide down his body. He held his breath as his hand inched down his abdomen and then slowly around his hips, and ass before he found his own entrance, idly tracing around it.   
Would Tony Stark be a harsh and rough lover or would he be tender, gentle? Loki let his finger slowly start sliding in. He grimaced and took a deep breath to try to relax his body. It had been far too long since he had taken a lover and his body protested at the lack of lubrication, but Loki pushed forward, ignoring that burning of pain as his body stretched.  
Rough.   
Tony Stark would be rough. He would be rough, and passionate, throwing his lovers into bed, pinning them there and making them beg for release. He would know every possible way to make his lovers scream. Loki shuddered, and his body relaxed, letting him press a little deeper.   
He stroked himself faster, helping to revive his wilting erection from the distracting pain of penetration. For the first time in his life, Loki wished he had bought himself a sex toy at some point in his life and that he could pull it out right now. There were even sex bots now, but that thought had never appealed to Loki.  
The water started to cool around him, reminding him he was still in the bathtub and that the world was still passing by around him. He felt like a fixed point in space, and all of these sensations were spiraling around and around him like water down the drain.   
His hand moved faster, squeezing tighter at the base of his shaft, and slowly lightening his grip as he stroked upwards. He focused on the callouses on his own hands, built up from years of working on unforgiving metals and imagined that they were Tony's hands. The rough hands of a mechanic.   
He shuddered again, moaning louder and bucking his hips forwards and backwards into his stroking hand, and then back into his penetrating lone finger that slowly dove in deeper and deeper. One of the many reasons Loki was grateful for the long, thin hands he had been blessed with.   
There was no slowing anything down, so he let his mind run wild, images of himself with a physically present Tony Stark. The two of them tumbling around the bed, fighting, kissing, biting as more and more clothing was stripped off. Tony would pin him down and refuse to move until Loki begged 'fuck me' and then the billionaire would grab his hips and make Loki scream until his voice was lost somewhere in the ceiling and wouldn't come back down.   
Images of the two of them and illicit meet ups during boring meetings, rendezvous in the parking lot, and hotel rooms where no paparazzi could see them together. Sometimes they wouldn't even make it to the bed, and they'd have rough sex against the door, both of them covered with bites and scratches that they had to carefully hide under their suits at the next meeting.   
Loki's moans grew louder, bouncing around the walls around him as the water rocked with his movements, starting a series of tidal waves against the bath tub as Loki felt his body getting tighter and tighter. Forcing his finger further, he finally hooked around the center of the universe in his body, and a meteor shower erupted behind his eyes, flares of colors that all burned together as Loki's body bucked and a moan ripped out of his lungs as he came into the water.   
He stroked himself through his climax, panting for air and trying to catch his breath. He had the momentary thought that this would be the way to die, in a pool with his own cum after jacking off to thoughts of the hologram that lived in his house. Shaking his head with a laugh at that thought, he finally pulled his hand from his cock, and then tenderly freed his fingers from his body.   
The water stopper wiggled free, Loki watched as the water and remains of his masturbation swirled past him and around the drain. Before he could think too much about it, he turned on the shower and let some cold water run over his body, flashing himself back to the reality where Tony Stark was a hologram, and Loki was dying, not trying to get laid.   
Fantasies were fun while they lasted, but Loki knew better than to try to live in them.


	18. RDF

A plus side of being a hologram was that Jarvis didn't lock him out of the lab after he'd worked over a certain number of hours. Tony didn't have to worry about that whole eating and sleeping issue anymore and he could work for days on end without any of that annoying hallucinating and collapsing nonsense. It sure let him get a helluva lot more done.   
"Alright, run program again." Tony said, leaning back and watching as the simulation ran for the millionth time. Nanites. Nanites incorporated into the body to repair damage and keep everything running smoothly was something Tony had started working on with the hopes of using it to save himself, but now that it was abundantly clear that wasn't happening, he was aiming for the next best thing: saving Loki.   
He watched the simulation run and groaned when the nanites all clumped together around the lump in Loki's lungs and caused a quick, but painful death. He groaned. The simulations still kept running into this problem every damn time. "Show me the nanites stats again." He muttered, and glanced through the numbers that Jarvis pulled up on the screen. They were acting too much like the body and clumping, but unlike the body, they caused blockages a lot easier than white blood cells or even a blood clot.   
Tony scratched at his non-existent hair and blew out a big rush of air, hoping maybe that would take all of his shitty ideas with it and that would be the end of that. He didn't really think that was a good plan, maybe a restart of his systems would clear out his bad ideas?   
He shook his head, no. Reboot didn't necessarily mean he'd come back just like this. He'd revert to his original save file, and that meant potentially not knowing who Loki was or what was going on, and that would be a disaster.   
"Alright, let's try changing the nanites coating this time, something less like blood cells so they're less likely to clump?" He thought out loud then nodded, "Right, okay... Um... let's try changing external properties to better mimic some white blood cells."   
"Of course sir. Re-rendering now." Jarvis said.   
Tony sighed, "Loki doing alright?" He asked.   
There was a pause, "Master Loki is just finishing a shower."   
Tony frowned, "Wait, I just asked you how he was like ten minutes ago and he was taking a bath. Why is he taking a shower now?"  
"He was not satisfied with his level of cleanliness after his bath." Jarvis responded simply.   
"But his health levels check out?" Tony asked.   
"Affirmative, heart rate is slightly elevated but still within acceptable ranges of activity."   
Tony nodded, sighing. God, that was what was distracting him, Loki right above him, still probably mad.   
“Run this simulation again."   
Tony watched as the nanites ran more smoothly this time, a few clumped together but they didn't block the vital pathways and slowly they began to eat away at that mass in Loki's chest. He grinned wider then froze as the lump disappeared and the nanites continued eating away at the lung tissue until they had dissolved the lungs from the inside out.  
"Jarvis, what the hell was that?" Tony stared at the image, trying to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach, a sensation which should be impossible since he was a hologram, but apparently his programming was that good.   
"The nanites identified the tissue as diseased and proceeded to destroy the infected tissue." Jarvis reported.   
Tony swallowed back on the thought of Loki having to suffer through that. "Jesus... Okay, so are you telling me the nanites are trying to get rid of everything with a trace of disease?"   
"Yes sir."   
Tony rubbed his temples, "Okay, we're gonna have to rework that so that there is no outright destruction of vital organs..." He took a deep breath and pulled up his work again, and let himself melt into the work. Hell, he probably should let Loki look at this; he'd probably be able to figure it out in a heartbeat.   
He stopped his work, when the hell had he ever before even thought about letting someone else have a solid hand in his work? Never. He'd let Pepper help when he needed it because he trusted her, hell he probably had loved her, but to let someone into the engine of his own projects?   
That was a no. No one understood how his mind worked, but he had the distinct feeling that there were probably quite a few things that Loki could take him to school on, but how was he going to get Loki's help on this without letting him know what it was for? That was out of the question, no he wanted to do this for Loki.   
Shit.  
Tony sat down on the workbench; he was doing all of this for Loki. And all he could think about was when he was dying, all the things he'd tried to do for the people he'd love, giving Pepper the reigns of his company, buying her anything she wanted, and coming up with programs to help her manage schedules. He'd built her everything because he'd wanted her happy, and now with Loki he was doing the same thing all over again.   
This was bad. He shouldn't have made his own programming this strong, if he was still capable of feeling this level... He swallowed, and shook his head. His feelings didn't matter; holograms didn't get laid and didn't get a boyfriend that was for damn sure.   
But Loki deserved to live. He deserved everything, but for the time being he'd have to settle for what Tony could make do with creating.   
“Alright, put project little’uns on hold right now, let’s look back at the suit. How’s the power source holding?”  
“Power source is steady sir.”  
“Please tell me you are not surprised by that.” Loki spoke up.   
Tony look up at Loki walking down the steps. His skin was faintly flushed and his pupils were wide. What the hell had put him in such a good mood?  
“I’m never surprised when my tech works.”   
Loki smiled, "Was it not your company that built the arc reactor and then rarely did anything with it but point people towards it when they asked about what Stark Industries did besides make weapons."   
Tony smiled faintly, "Yeah, Obi always said it just made the hippies happy but you know I really believed in it. Hell I still do. I mean, it might have failed keeping me alive, but the arc reactor was meant to change the world. I just fucked it up."   
"...You did not anticipate clocking out so soon. Given enough time I imagine you would have changed the world. You did even in your lifetime. Those reactor basics are what power our refineries now."   
"Aw, shucks, you're gonna make me blush." Tony grinned and looked over at Loki.  
The scientist didn't look away, holding Tony's gaze for a whole lot longer than was necessary, and Tony swore if he was still made of flesh and blood there would be a whole lot of blood rushing across his cheeks and down south.   
"You require help?" Loki asked.   
Tony licked his lips, feeling himself wanting help, and god if that was not a strange feeling.   
"Yeah. I need help." He finally admitted, and then laughed as he sagged into the workbench, "God I need help. I don't know where to start. It's weird not having money or resources like I use to. Ya know, before I could just start a project and have the supplies to me before I was even done rendering a prototype, and now..." He shook his head, "Now I have to just run the models again and again and never build a damn thing. All I had was a few spare parts for the suit but that's been used up now in your suit so..."  
"Well I think starting with a design is a good plan." Loki said, "Creating digital models saves a lot of leg work later on so that's the best route, getting together supplies to build a full size reactor to start with will not go will."   
Tony groaned, and shook his head, "Boring."   
"Yes well, boring helps make sure that work gets done and is appropriately created rather than just slapping things together and seeing what sticks."  
"See now you are criticizing my entire way of working."   
Loki grinned, "Yes well maybe you are in need of some criticizing after all the trouble you put me through for daring to live here."   
"Oh ouch, you grew fangs while I wasn't looking." Tony mocked grabbing his heart like he'd been hit. "A few rides in that suit and you're like a new person. I like it."   
Loki paused, "You like me?" He tilted his head.   
"I...did I say that? That was weird. So….some suit adjustments…”  
Loki smiled lightly and began pulling up the scans, going over a few suggestions for power options and weapons.   
Tony sighed, “Looks good but I’m not sure about these.” He motioned to some of the thrusters. “Here, let me pull up some stuff. Jarvis open file “Sock Drawer.””  
Loki rolled his eyes, "Really?"  
Tony shrugged, "It totally works to help me remember where I keep my stuff."  
"I imagine Jarvis could find whatever you wanted even if you forgot where it was stored."   
"Thank you sir. Many times he does just come up with file names that do not exist." Jarvis said.   
Loki laughed and Tony glared up towards the ceiling, "Hey, whose side are you on?"  
"Were we taking sides sir?" Jarvis asked, but before Tony could answer, Jarvis continued, "Files available. What shall I look for sir?"  
"Anything related to Mach 1-5.”  
"Of course. Searching now."   
Found fourteen files meeting those criteria. How shall I sort them?"   
"By type. Videos at the top. I don't want to have read some long memo if I don't have to." Tony rubbed his temples.   
Loki nodded, "Well, let us start watching these videos and see if there is anything of use."   
"How about we go upstairs and watch it on the couch on the big screen, like a movie night."   
Loki blinked but nodded, "Very well. I will see you upstairs then." He headed up the stairs of the lab.   
Tony went to smooth out his hair then groaned softly, "Jesus, you are trying to go out on a date with him. You are intangible Stark." He shook his head, "Jarvis, send videos up to living room console."   
"Yes sir."   
Tony teleported himself up to the living room where Loki had a bowl of popcorn and was wrapping up in a blanket as he settled on the couch. It was the most casual and relaxed that Tony had ever seen Loki and god if he didn't look good.   
Loki tucked his long legs up under himself, and patted the couch beside him, "Well, let us start at the beginning."   
"Where else is there to start?" Tony laughed.   
"Starting with first video in chronological order." Jarvis reported.   
The first video flickered onto screen in the jumpy old-timey footage that Tony had grown to love when he'd watched those classic movies, but seeing his father there, standing at the opening ceremonies of Shield was strange. There was a woman with light brown hair and bright red lipstick standing directly beside him, and Tony had the distinct impression that she could kick your ass without breaking a sweat.   
“Suits Jarvis.” Tony sighed.   
“My apologies sir, this file contains three mentions of a Mach 2.”   
They were talking about the purpose of Shield, and knowing how damn secretive Fury had been, Tony was shocked that anyone had recorded it but then it made sense when Howard, god his dad looked young, demonstrated a new device, what looked like a new type of gun.   
It fired across the screen and into a new army uniform; the suit held up pretty well all things considered.   
Tony tilted his head, "Huh. I never knew dad built stuff like that."   
"You never worked any with him?" Loki asked as the clip flickered off the screen.   
"Me? Do anything with my dad? Noooo. No sir-y. Howard was a strictly off hands and out of the picture dad. So no. None of that daddy son bonding nonsense."  
"Oh."   
"What about you and Odin?"  
Loki looked away and Tony was just about to open his mouth and apologize for bringing up Loki's family when Loki finally spoke.   
"It is like Odin and I speak a different language. He does not understand me and I do not understand him. He does not enjoy my past times but he generally does try. He just does not understand. None of them really have but they supported me and I suppose I should be grateful for that."   
Tony scooted a little closer to Loki, wishing he was physical cause now would be the time to wrap an arm around Loki.   
The next video began playing. 

Tony crashed into the wall and then thudded onto a nice red car before dum-e appeared with a fire extinguisher and coated Tony. Loki snorted, trying not to laugh before he just dissolved into laughter.   
Tony glared at the video. "Jarvis..."   
"This is relevant to the given search terms sir." Jarvis said.   
Loki laughed harder, until his stomach hurt and his sides ached.. Tears dripped down his cheeks before he finally managed to start to get ahold of himself. He wiped his eyes, and took a deep, slightly shaky breath. "That was your first flight?" He finally asked.   
Tony crossed his arms, "Trying to find the proper amount of thrust is a challenge. I'm the first person to make that kind of thing, and it didn't go perfectly."   
"The try first, think later philosophy?" He asked with a smirk.   
"Oh ha-ha smart ass." Tony shook his head, "Can we have some videos that are actually useful Jarvis?"   
"Of course sir." Jarvis said and a few minutes later, there was a series of clips playing of the build process of het he marh 2.   
Tony watched with a faint smile on his face. "This is the closest thing I've got to a kid. It's like watching a first birthday party video all over again."   
"It's got your eyes." Loki teased then tilted his head, "you said you dealt with the icing problem?"   
"Yep. One of the very first bugs I worked out of the system." Tony nodded, "That won't be much of an issue with your suit since there won’t be much high altitude flying"   
"So I noticed." Loki nodded and smiled, "but I still think a smaller thruster would be more efficient.”   
“Maybe.” Tony relented.   
“And repulsors that will not send me crashing into the wall for dum-e to douse.”   
“Oh, I would never do that! Scouts honor." Tony mock saluted.   
Loki smiled, "Somehow I doubt you were ever a scout."   
"Hey I was a scout for a whole two weeks. I take my scouts honor very seriously." He grinned.   
Loki laughed, "Oh, I never meant to insult your honor."   
"I'm deeply forever wounded." Tony clutched his chest.   
Loki smiled, "Drama king."   
"Oh I'm always the king." He smiled.   
"That is what you think." Loki shook his head.   
Tony leaned back on the couch, "Jarvis, play some of the other clips."   
"Of course sir."   
Loki leaned back as well, watching the clips, not noticing when Tony tried to slip his arm around Loki.  
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Tony chided himself as he watched his arm slide through the couch and completely miss Loki. He was a hologram, he couldn't 'make a move' on Loki even if he wanted to...and damn he wanted to. He quickly pulled his arm back to his side before Loki could realize what he was doing and comment on it.   
The rest of the clips played through the building process and the various redesigns that had happened along the way. He was glad Jarvis didn't play any clips that included Obadiah; Tony wasn't quite ready to face that.   
“We need to adjust those thrusters.” Loki murmured, voice heavy.   
“Hm? Oh yeah, slim them down right?”  
“Mmhmmm.”  
Tony grinned, “I’ll do it tonight.”   
“Mmmm…” Loki smiled and relaxed.   
Eventually, Tony noticed his head roll to one side, and his eyes flutter to a close. His breathing slowed and evened out, and Loki was sound asleep on the couch.   
Tony smiled, god, he was hot. He reminded Tony of some sports car; something foreign, fast and expensive, exactly Tony's taste. Loki had the long lean lines of a car meant to admire and take for a ride, but an engine complicated enough to keep Tony occupied for the rest of his life.   
If he wasn't already dead that was. He wished he could be physical again, was that even possible? He'd have to research where android technology was. Hell he could make himself a suit that looked more human than machine. Now that would be a project to throw himself into, researching what to make something human like.   
He shook his head, his first priority needed to be getting Loki well, and then maybe he could play around with other projects and see what he could come up with. Then he'd have Loki at full health to help out, and between the two of them, Tony was willing to bet they could do anything. He sighed as he watched Loki sleep, wishing he could either pick the sleeping man up or curl up with him.   
This was worse than some kind of boyhood crush or something like that. Tony could tell this was way past the point of just thinking Loki was cute. This was something he felt down in his chest, and that tingled all the way across his body. He didn't just want to see what that long lean body looked out unclothed and flushed; he wanted to say up late talking to Loki about everything, he wanted to eat dinner, have coffee, and go to bed with him. He wanted a relationship.   
That terrofied him. Even in life, Tony stark was not known for his monogamy or his relationships. What was happening was something new, something he'd only felt an inkling of when he'd really seen Pepper. He'd wanted to get to know her, to see her, to talk to her, but then that whole dying thing had happened and that went to hell. He'd be awful at relationships anyways, all that talking, and dealing with feelings. No. That was not at all Tony Starks area. His area was numbers, calculations, taking things apart and then rebuilding them. His area was definitely not people. Not feelings and not anything that he couldn't calculate out.   
He sighed, "Jarvis, can you get dum-e up here with a blanket and pillow? The good ones."   
"Of course sir."   
A few minutes later, Tony heard the telltale whirring of dum-e trudging in and over to the couch, the red and gold blanket trailed on the ground behind him and a red silk pillow.   
"Alright can you get that pillow under Loki's head?" He asked.   
Dum-e chirped and began sliding the pillow in. Loki sighed and turned, letting the pillow slide under his head.   
"Good job." Tony smiled, "blanket?"   
Dum-e chirped again and waved the blanket over its head before trying to get the blanket over Loki. It fluttered in the air then flopped over his head.   
Tony sighed. "Close enough." He muttered, shaking his head.   
Dum-e chirped a question and reached for the blanket again.   
Tony shook his head, "Don't you dare; he's asleep." Tony chided.   
Dum-e dropped the blanket and rolled backwards from Loki.   
"You're fine, you did a good just...just go back to pick up the lab okay?"   
Dum-e chirped and rolled back towards the lab.   
Tony shook his head, smiling faintly. Of all the things that had survived the hibernation, dum-e was probably one of the ones that he was most grateful to still be up and around. He'd never admit it out loud but the title robot was a good reminder that not even Tony Stark was always perfect. He made mistakes, and damn if he didn't love the little screw up arm that messed up his projects and twisted his life upside down.   
He sat down on the arm of the couch to watch Loki sleep. Loki’s chest didn't move evenly, every breath was a rough struggle that made his chest shake. It hurt to watch. Tony couldn't imagine the level of pain that just taking a single breath caused him. God, to not able to even breathe without hurting.   
He shook his head and teleported back down to the lab. "You up Jarvis?"   
"For you sir, always."   
"Sweet talk gets you everywhere." He grinned, "Alright, we are getting project little'uns ready to go live. You understand?"   
"Sir? What need time to-"   
"We are finishing it tonight, I want a dose ready to go before the sun comes up. I don't need sleep and you've never needed sleep so let's make this all nighter count."   
"Of course sir. Pulling up project little'uns now."


	19. Perihelion

Loki woke to a warm soothing bundle around him. He groaned, and groggily opened his eyes to stare up at a luxuriously soft blanket with an AES embroidered onto the edge.   
"Tony?" He asked, slowly pulling the blanket off of his head.   
He didn't remember falling asleep on the couch, but here he was curled up on the couch with a pillow and a blanket. "Dum-e?"   
There was a soft chirping and then the little robot whirred into the room with its arm waving.   
Loki smiled, "Thank you for tucking me in." He gently ran his hand over the top of dum-e's arm and sighed. "I will make sure you get a good home when I am gone. I promise."   
The little bot chirped again and rotated its arm to gently grab the edge of Loki's shirt, and tugged on it. Loki smiled, "Go find Tony and let him know I will be down to the lab shortly."  
Loki headed into the kitchen and started his tea brewing before heading upstairs to take a shower. His chest ached, and even though he knew it wasn't a pain that hot water would take away, it wouldn't hurt. He settled into the hot water, not allowing any fantasies to play across his mind as he quickly washed, redressed and headed downstairs.   
Maybe he could get Tony to start work on thinning out the repulsive already so that the next time that they had to take out the suit, it would respond a little easier and fly smoother. It would at least make his ability to control the suit better because if Tony ever lost connection with the suit, Loki would need to be able to handle it on his own, and right now he didn't think he could.   
His hair still wet, he headed back into the kitchen to collect his tea before going down into the lab. The suit was already out, and Loki watched as various mechanical arms went to work on it. He wasn't sure what upgrades were happening since he's trill wasn't familiar with the interior working of the suit and all of the pieces and parts that kept it spinning,   
"Tony?" He called, "What are you doing?"   
"Hey, you're up early." The hologram man appeared in front of Loki with a smile on his face.   
"What are you doing to the suit?" He asked again.   
"Just some updates based on the test data information, changing the power diversion and adjusting those thrusters. You were right, they're a little too bulky for the new suit design so I'm having Jarvis slim them down a bit with the design we talked about."  
"You are implementing that already?" He asked.   
"Duh. Why wait around?" Tony smiled. "You wanted us to dick around a little first?"  
Loki flushed faintly at that wording. "No. I just was expecting you to talk to me first before doing this."  
"We agreed on these last night. You don't remember?" Tony asked.   
Loki frowned, "We what?"  
"Yeah I asked you what upgrades you thought we needed and you told me. I said I'd do it, and you said great." Tony said, then smirked, "Were you asleep?"  
Loki frowned. He didn't remember having that conversation but then again, he almost never fell asleep on the couch without remembering it, so it was possible.   
He finally shrugged, "I must have been. What'd else did I say?"  
"Oh things I would never dare repeat." He teased, and Loki flushed before looking over to the suit again.   
"It really is incredible. A million moving parts that you have performing like a symphony."  
Tony smiled, "Spent a lot of time working out as many of the kinks as I could. This time around I get to fix even more issues with it so I'm happy to get it opened up like this. Reminds me of the good old days with me elbow deep in the suit and dum-e standing by with the fire extinguisher."  
Loki laughed, remembering his own first meeting with the fire extinguisher wielding dum-e. "That does seem to be his natural calling,"  
"Oh don't say that. You'll give him a big ego."   
"He did not already inherit that from you?" Loki teased.  
Tony smiled, "Touché. Hey now let's go up and get Jarvis to make you some breakfast. There's nothing to do here but to watch Jarvis work."  
"We need to give Jarvis some privacy?" Loki asked.  
"Yeah, he's shy about being watched."  
"You know I never mind you watching me work sir."  
"Oh you flirt." Tony grinned before nodding up towards the kitchen, "Jarvis get some eggs going, alright. Use whatever Loki's preferences are for the default for all food options."  
"Of course sir. That means no more ordering pizza for all meals?"  
"I didn't order it for all my meals..."  
"Of course, how could one forgot your love of hamburgers as well."   
"You woke up sassy today Jarvis." Tony laughed, "Get on up to the kitchen, I'll be there in a second."  
Loki frowned but nodded. Tony was certainly trying to keep him out of the lab for some reason, but for right now, Loki would play the game and see what Tony was trying to keep hidden later. He headed back up the stairs where the sound of eggs sizzling in a pan made him realize that his stomach was already growling and ready for food. He sat down at the bar, watching as the pan moved itself and then, when the eggs were perfectly scrambled, the burner turned off.   
"Your breakfast sir." Jarvis announced.   
"Thank you Jarvis," Loki got his plate ready and sat down, enjoying the warm, filling meal. It was nice to have a system in place that ensured he ate. He had a bad tendency to skip meals when a project got his attention, but with Jarvis he had to eat, and he had someone else to do the cooking and the dishes.   
Almost like a built in maid but without the having to deal with other people problem. There were, of course, android maids and butlers, that many of the wealthy would use, but Loki had never felt the need for that nonsense and effort. However, he had to admit that the help Jarvis gave was very convenient for his life.   
"Jarvis makes a mean egg right?" Tony asked, appearing in the seat beside him,   
"He does. Why did you program him to cook? You did not simply hire a human chef for your meals?"   
Tony shrugged, "People are always a problem with me. I wanted someone available all the time but who wouldn't get in my way. Jarvis does everything so why would I need anything else?"  
"But you had Miss Potts."   
Tony nodded, "I know. And Pepper, she was one of a kind. An amazing woman who deserved everything in life."  
"You cared about her a great deal."  
Tony nodded, "Yep. And I'd rather not talk about it."  
Loki nodded, "Of course. I apologize. I just am curious about you.""  
"You didn't read any of the dozens of biographies written about me?"  
Loki rolled his eyes, "I doubt a single one of those actually got anywhere near close to right."   
Tony gave a wry smile. "You're just trying to get on my good side now."  
"I do not have to try for that."   
Tony laughed, "Alright, what do you want to know about little ol’ me?"  
Loki thought, "I do not know exactly, just..." Loki tried to think for words without his mind immediately jumping to questions you'd ask on a first date.  
Tony grinned, "Speechless? Well, tell you what, let's pay a game. I answer your questions and you answer mine. When someone gets to a question they won't answer, they have to do a dare."   
Loki hesitated, a game? He finally nodded, "alright. What do you want me to do with the house and suits when I die?"  
Tony groaned. "That is so cheating to use that as your first question. Fine. I would like you to...to turn it back into a museum. I can keep the suits hidden, but I would still like for people to be able to learn about things from what I have."   
Loki nodded, "Fair enough. I will see if Sif can create something ironclad enough to mean that it will stay a museum and not go up for auction again."  
"That'd be the ideal. Next owner might not be as good as you. Alright, my question. Why aren't you trying more to keep yourself alive?"  
Loki sighed, "It is not that I do not want to keep myself alive, it is just that I am tired of these treatments, of feeling this thing grow back again and again. I do not want to go through the pain of another lung transplant that is just going to fail. I would rather enjoy my time, then die in a hospital with my body filled with tubes."   
"I guess that's fair enough." Tony said after a moment.   
Loki nodded, "Did you expect to be around this long?"  
"Well yes. I mean I am a genius and I knew what I had created would work, but I didn't know that what is created would be so me. I remember everything and looks like my personality is intact. I feel like a person even if I know I'm not."  
"You certainly act like a person. I have forgotten several times that," Loki paused, "well you are a person. Just not one with a physical component."   
"That's a big thing coming from mister anti AI like you."  
"I am not anti-AI." Loki protested.   
"So why haven't you attempted to study me and take me apart?" Tony asked.  
"Because that does not seem necessary. You are a sentient creature and just adjusting your code seems like an ethical issue."   
"So you view me as a person even though I'm an AI?" Tony asked.   
"No. I mean," Loki groaned, "You are different."   
"Different?"   
"Than the AIs I create and program. You are different than them."   
"Yeah and how is that? My dazzling smile and winning personality?"   
"You were a person. You were someone of flesh and blood and now you're in a hologram form. It is different than something that is built up from the first line of code to the last. They have only ever existed as machine. You are different." Loki finally said. It was strange to admit it out loud, that Loki, the renowned AI expert who had some of the strictest AI guidelines considered this one in front of him a person.   
"But not Jarvis?"   
"No." Loki finally said. "He is something you built, not a human in an intangible world. There is a difference."   
Tony shrugged, "I guess so."  
"Did you ever have issues with AIs when you were building yours? Your work was some of the inspiration for mine, and it always seemed flawless."   
"I'm just that good." Tony grinned before shaking his head, "Nah, Jarvis took me most of my teens and twenties to perfect. I spent every waking moment on him for years, never could quite get it right. That British accent thing? A total fluke I couldn't figure out how to fix. I finally just figured it went with the name and stopped trying to fix it."   
"It does suit him."   
"Thank you sirs." Jarvis chimed in.   
"I am glad to hear that your work was not as easy and flawless as your biographies made it seem."   
Tony laughed, "Everyone always glosses over the failures when they're writing about it. No one wants to hear about the 700 designs that didn't work, just about the one that made it. So, I'm the reason you went into AI? My, my, I didn't realize you were such a big fan of mine."  
Loki felt the flush rush up his neck and across his cheeks. He looked away, trying to hide and preserve what little dignity he had left. "I am going to have a glass of wine." He said abruptly and walked into the kitchen, pouring himself one glass that he quickly downed before pouring himself a second glass and hurrying back to the living room to rejoin Tony. "So the suits must be what you are most proud of, yes?"  
“I didn’t think you’d be a wine before lunch kind of guy.” Tony grinned, "Well since you're insisting we be honest... no actually, the suits aren't."   
"Then what on earth is? The reactor?"  
Tony grinned, "Dum-E."  
"We are supposed to be answering honestly." Loki crossed his arms.   
"I'm being totally honest." Tony nodded, "See Dum-E was the first thing I really ever made without my dad standing over my shoulder telling me exactly how to do it. Dum-E is totally, 100% mine, and the first thing that felt like mine. He's crappy and has his own little kinks and quirks, but dammit he's mine."   
Loki blinked but slowly nodded, "I understand that. Thank you for the honest answer." he smiled and sipped at his wine. He could already feel the first glass starting to hit him.   
"That's what I'm here for." Tony grinned, "So what was your first project that really felt like yours?"  
"Oh, it was a painfully simple AI I made to trick my brother into thinking someone was endlessly messaging him. It would respond with just 'Hi Thor.'" He shook his head, "Not really an AI but the first thing I really made by myself. He was so mad when he figured it out, but that was how I got started. I think I was 5 or 6 when that happened."   
"A prankster from a young age, huh?"  
"Trickster." Loki corrected, "I try to not play pranks so much as tricks, like turning your coloring pink."   
Tony smiled at that reminder. "Pink's a good color on me you know."   
"I noticed." Loki said before taking a big gulp of his wine, "So, you never really dated in your life time?"   
"Not really dated per say. Slept with, oh hell yeah. King of the one night stand, not so much king of the dinner and a movie thing."   
"Dates are so boring." Loki sighed, laying his head on the couch.   
"That so?"  
"No one can ever keep up with me. I talk and it is like I am speaking some foreign language. They stare and just comment on how smart I am. I just" He shook his head, "It is a massive waste of time."   
"Well you just need to find someone on your wave length." Tony said after a moment.   
Loki snorted, "What like you?"   
XXX  
Tony froze at those words. Did Loki really mean that? The flush on Loki's cheeks told him that Loki was at least feeling a bit tipsy, but enough to blurt out something like that?   
As realization of what he'd just said hit Loki, his face crumpled into shock, distress and then full-blown panic. He stammered and stumbled over his words and Tony had the urge to just kiss him right there to stop his nervous stammering, but he remembered that he couldn't do that, and managed to refrain from making himself look like an idiot.   
"Well now, that was awfully forward. You asking me out for dinner and a movie?" Tony teased.   
Loki stammered more and the blush traveled up his throat, across his face and then danced over his ears. If Loki turned any more red, he really might burst into flames, or at least start bleeding from the nose.   
"I did not mean it like that!" Loki finally managed to get out a coherent sentence, though with the squeak of a hamster.  
"Then how did you mean it?" Tony asked.   
"I just." Loki chewed at his lip, "I just meant you are the smartest person I know so it was just meant to be a compliment to you."   
"A compliment, not a come on?"  
That beautiful, bright red color glowed a little brighter against Loki's skin and Tony grinned. God, it was nice getting a reaction out of Loki, and damn if that blush didn't look good on him.   
"Are you hitting on me?" Tony asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.   
Loki's voice stammered out of his mouth in a strange mixture of outrage, embarrassment, and a little bit of mortification.   
Interesting.  
"Aw, Lokes, I'm touched, really."   
"Are you hitting on me?" Loki got his voice back and threw Tony's question right back at him.   
Tony paused, "Well I certainly hope so." He finally answered with a grin.   
"What?" Loki's voice was reaching astonishing new high pitches.   
"Look, you're hot, and smart." Tony said, "And I mean, I know I'm quite irresistible."   
"What? You...but...I..." Loki just stammered and stared at Tony.   
God Tony wanted to kiss him, to be able to just reach in there and take that stunned look on Loki's face and give him something to really gasp about. Huh. Since he didn't even have to worry about the whole blood running south thing, maybe he never really did think with his dick so to speak, cause right now it was his whole body singing in a single harmony of Loki.


	20. Oxidation

Tony couldn't remember the last time he had wanted someone this bad, and judging by the way Loki licked his lips, Tony thought he wasn't alone in his desire. Then again, that could be the glass of wine talking and while Tony wanted Loki, he wanted an enthusiastic Loki, not one too drunk to know up from down.   
"Loki, you've had a little bit to drink. Maybe you ought to go to bed."   
"No. I think I should be right here." Loki scooted a little closer.   
Tony's breathing hitched, and he took a slow breath in, held it for a moment and then let it back out. "Damn."  
"I can walk a straight line if you want me to." Loki's voice dropped to a husky growl Tony hadn't heard before.   
God, if he still had a physical body he might have come just from that voice alone. He swallowed. "What do you want to do?"   
"I do not know." Loki said, and for just a half a second Tony was confused, then Loki continued, "So by the rules of our games, does that not mean you get to give me a dare?"   
Tony nodded, trying to make sure his jaw was at least somewhat closed, at least a little. "Right. Right. Yes it does." Tony leaned back, trying to think.   
He finally decided to press his luck, "Take off your shirt and walk a straight line."   
Loki arched a brow, leaning back and bringing those long fingertips to the collar of his shirt before tugging it up and off his head in one fluid, graceful motion.   
Next, he stood from the couch and strutted across the room in a mostly straight line. Tony was too busy watching the sway of his hips to really focus too much on the actual straightness of the line he walked.   
When Loki sat back down, Tony let out a breath, "Damn."   
Loki smirked, "What next?"  
"I haven’t got a clue." Tony murmured.   
Loki leaned in with a grin, all teeth as he purred, "Then that means I get to give you a dare.."   
"Yeah. Yeah it does." Damn. Tony felt like a 15 year old about to lose his virginity all over again. Guess a 100-year period of celibacy would do that to a guy."I don't know how much I can do, but, for you, I'll try." He finally said.   
Loki smiled, "Take off your clothes."   
Tony paused, for a moment not sure if that was even something he could do, but when he made the motion to remove his clothing his shirt slid off then vanished, then his pants, and then Tony Stark was stark naked on his couch. "Well I think you're overdressed now." Tony finally said.   
Loki nodded. His pupils were blown wide as his fingers hooked around the waistband of his sweatpants. He slid his pants down his lean hips and then kicked them off of the couch. And just like that, Loki was naked.   
"You going commando today?" Tony asked, letting his eyes trace over every inch of pale, skin, noting every line, every scar that decorated his chest, cutting along his chest with the skin stitched back together like a jigsaw puzzle. It reminded him of the scars on his chest.  
He took a deep breath.   
Loki pulled back, bringing his arms up over his chest, "Sorry."   
"What? Loki no! No, it's fine; you're fine." Tony held up his hands, "I just damn. You're hot." He grinned, and gave a playful wolf whistle.   
Loki flushed, "You are not so bad yourself." He finally said, lowering his arms a bit.   
"So, now what?" Tony asked, "I would jump your bones if I could but," He leaned forward to let his hand brush through Loki's arm, "I can just look but not touch."   
Loki took a deep breath, "Then I will give you something to look at."  
"What?" Tony sat up a little straight as Loki turned on the couch to better face Tony. He let his arms drop to his side, and then slowly spread his legs.   
Tony took a deep breath. He didn't know what to think about what was about to happen, but he didn't think he ever wanted it to stop.   
Loki watched Tony's every movement, and a little thrill ran down Tony's spine, Loki was waiting for him to tell him what to do. He was going to give Tony the power of director of this little show. Loki was already half hard, his cock just starting to swell to life and Tony groaned. He wanted to touch, to taste, to feel every inch of this long, lean body on display in front of him. He wanted to fuck Loki into the couch, and then argue about the best design for maximum air resistance. He wanted Loki.


	21. Accretion

Loki's heart felt like it was going to rip out of his chest and charge straight towards Tony at any moment. Every pulse shuddered through him. Loki had never felt like this before, wanton, and ready to give his body exactly what it craved. The wine certainly helped him get to this stage but the truth was knowing he didn't have much longer to live, he wanted to at least have a few moments of bliss before the end.   
And this was going to be pure bliss. "Tell me what you want to see me do." Loki said softly.   
Even though Tony was just a hologram, Loki could still see a shudder run through him, see his breathing increase and watch the way his eyes tracked over Loki's body. Tony wanted this just as badly.   
"Jesus Loki." Tony let out a long breath, "You are gorgeous. God, if I had a body..."   
"Well maybe we can work on that." Loki said slowly, "But for right now, just instruct me."   
Tony licked his lips, "Spread your legs a little more, and lay down on the couch so I can see you better."   
Loki smiled as he slid down the couch and let his legs fall open. He'd never done something like this before, he'd barely even had lovers before but this was already miles above his previous experiences.   
"Touch yourself." Tony breathed out.   
Loki ran his hands over his chest, and abdomen then down his thighs, bypassing his cock even though it ached with need.   
"Loki!" Tony whined.   
"You did not tell me where to touch."   
"Jesus." Tony took another breath, "Start jerking yourself off. Slow. Really slow."   
Loki's hands slid back up his legs and found their way to wrap around his length and begin slowly stroking. His head dropped back onto the couch and he moaned.   
"Fuck." Tony breathed out. "Can Jarvis record this?"   
Loki looked at Tony standing breathless above him before he answered, "Yes. I want you to relive this moment over and over."   
Tony shuddered, "Fuck." He said again. "Alright Jarvis. I want all of this recorded with best visual and audio you can get."   
"Of course sir." Was all Jarvis said, and Loki was grateful for that, more than that and he would have felt a bit awkward imagining another in the room with them.   
He continued running his hands slowly up and down his length, watching Tony's eyes follow his hand.  
"You have any kind of lube around?" He asked.   
Loki had to stop and think before nodding, "I will get it." He swayed his hips a bit more than necessary as he went back upstairs to his bedroom and then returned with a small tube of lube. Something he'd bought on a whim when he'd first moved in here.   
"What would you like me to do with it?" He asked Tony.   
"God, you are really going to make me spell out everything aren't you? Damn minx." Tony grinned, "I want you to fuck yourself with your fingers. How's that?"  
"I think I can make that work." Loki sprawled back out on the couch, stretching out before he carefully began applying the lube to his fingers. He began slowly massaging around his entrance, arching his back and keeping his legs wide to make sure Tony had a clear view.   
The first finger burned, pressing against him and slowly forcing its way inside. Loki let out a long breath, forcing himself to keep breathing regularly to help his body relax.   
"How long has it been?" Tony asked.   
Loki looked up at him, "Too damn long."   
Tony grinned, "Don't worry baby, I'll take care of you. Now, second finger, come on."   
Loki nodded, and slowly began to ease his second finger in. A flash of pain very briefly rolled up his spine at the initial breech but then it settled into a slow burn as he began using those two fingers to shallowly fuck himself.   
"Think you can do a third?" Tony asked.   
Loki glanced at him before nodding, and without waiting to be told he let a third finger press its way into his body. He rolled his hips into the touch, focusing on breathing and keeping his body relaxed. Slowly the dull pain faded into a warm full feeling.   
"God baby, if I could I would be sucking you off while I fucked you with my fingers."   
Loki whimpered, moving his free hand to his wilting erection and starting to stroke it back to life, trying to imagine the warmth of his hand was Tony's mouth around him.   
"Fuck, you're pretending it's me aren't you? God damn, this is hot." Tony took a deep breath, "Fuck yourself deeper, hit your spot baby, and sing me a song."   
Loki arched his hips up higher to let his fingers press deeper and deeper into his body, hooking upwards and aiming for that-  
"AH!" Electricity jolted through Loki's body as his finger just grazed over his prostate.   
"Do that again." Tony's voice was husky.   
Loki nodded, breathlessly letting his fingers drum over his spot again. His toes curled and he whimpered as his other hand began stroking his erection faster.   
"More. Pretend it's me inside you. What would I be like?"  
Loki groaned, having to close his eyes as his fingers began moving faster, harder, deeper, bruising over his prostate.   
"Moan my name." Tony breathed out.   
"AH!! Tony!" Loki cried out, arching his body into the rough pace he'd given himself. It burned, and it felt like nothing Loki had ever felt before. "T-Tony, please!" He whimpered.  
"Please what?"  
"Come! I want to come!" He flushed at his own words.   
Tony smirked, "How would I finish you off?"  
Loki whined, and let his fingers roughly slam into his body. Tony would take what he wanted, give Loki a wild ride that would leave them both sore and spent.   
"Go baby. Just scream my name."   
Every part of his body began spiraling around the black hole of an orgasm before it all collapsed in on itself, dragging Loki into the abyss and through the other side. He heard someone screaming, realizing belatedly it was him before darkness washed over him.  
The darkness only lasted for a few seconds before Loki was coming to again with a groan. He slowly slid his fingers free from his body and sighed. "God. That was..."  
"Probably the hottest thing I have ever seen in my life, and I have seen some things." Tony said.   
The AI sounded breathless even though Loki knew he didn't actually need air to survive. Tony leaned over him, watching his every move; his eyes still tracked over every line of Loki's body now with come splattered across his abdomen and his skin glistening with a sheen of sweat.   
"You alright hot shot?" Tony asked.   
Loki nodded, still trying to catch his breath.   
"That whole passing out thing had me a little worried. You sure you're okay?" Tony asked again.   
Loki smiled, "I am fine. Just in need of a shower."   
"Wish I could carry you to one but…" Tony looked up, "Jarvis can you get the Jacuzzi filled up, some of the nice oil too."   
"Of course sir. Shall I put on some Kenny G?"   
"Oh ha-ha." Tony grinned, "No thanks Jay."   
"Now the only problem is my getting upstairs to the hot tub to enjoy that hot water you have prepared for me." Loki laughed.   
"Jarvis will keep it warm for you, just take your time." Tony said, "Wish I could carry you up there."   
"Not unless you want the suit in the water, and that doesn’t seem like a good idea."   
"It's water safe." Tony shrugged, "But yeah, that probably wouldn't so well in the hot tub."   
Loki smiled, "An experiment for another day perhaps, but for right now let us just try to sort out what is going on here."   
"What's going on here?”  
“What? Between us?"   
Tony arched a brow, "Uh, given that display, I thought that was kind obvious." He grinned, "What? Not obvious?"  
Loki sighed, what did he want? Tony was a hologram and Loki was dying, getting some kind of commitment seemed ridiculous, and trying to put some sort of label on what was happening seemed far too limited. Loki was happy, a rare feeling for him and he wanted to savor every hot moment of that burning in his chest.   
"Never mind." He shook his head, "This is something you are okay with?" Loki asked.   
"Are you kidding me? This is amazing. I mean damn." He whistled and Loki felt a blush rush over his cheeks.   
He rolled slowly upright so at least he was no longer sprawled on the couch. In another few moments, he got his legs, shaky but steady, under him and made the slow walk up to the master bedroom's impressive bathroom.   
Tony followed right along with him and then settled in beside the tub as Loki eased into the water. The warmth instantly wrapped around him and Loki let out a heavy sigh and just sagged into the water.  
"You look good relaxed. Didn't even know that was something you could be." Tony teased.   
Loki glared and splashed some water towards Tony. It flickered through the hologram and Tony's image wavered for a moment.  
"Oh ha-ha." Tony rolled his eyes but he was grinning. "So you're a bit of an exhibitionist, huh?" Tony asked.   
Loki flushed, "Well I had not considered myself to be."   
"I think after that show downstairs you might need to change your tune. Did you enjoy knowing I was watching you?"   
Loki closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. God he had enjoyed that. Knowing that Tony was watching, and wanting. "Yes." He finally breathed out. "Now, about that video you had Jarvis take."   
"Under the very tightest of security. It's stored on the same server my information is on so that is not getting into anyone's hand. Don't you worry your pretty little head over that."  
"I got to your coding."   
"Well yeah, but you're the exception, not the rule. How many people as smart as you are wandering around looking for pornos starring the AI genius of the age? No one. That's who." Tony smiled, "Relax. Your video is safe with me."   
"What are you even going to do with that?" Loki asked as he finally began running the soap over his body.   
"Well I keep thinking I ought to add a masturbation ability to this hologram. Coding an orgasm ought to be an interesting exercise, huh?"   
Loki laughed, "I do not know if that's something that can be replicated in code."   
"Well, if anyone can do it. I can, well probably, with your help for sure."   
Loki smiled, "Is this our foreplay? I help program you to masturbate and you then get to jerk off to my video?"   
"Damn, you are a genius."   
Loki shook his head, "You are ridiculous."   
"I think you're starting to like it." Tony leaned in over the tub, "But seriously. That was amazing. I've never seen anything that hot."   
"Well that is quite the compliment coming from you."   
"Damn straight it is." Tony nodded, "Man if any of your employers knew how hot you are they'd be putting you out as the face of the company, getting the media gaga over you and the company."   
Loki scoffed, "First off, my looks have no baring on my work, and secondly I do not want to have to interact with people like that." He shook his head, "No, I just want to keep at my work and finish that. God I do not want to have to play nice and schmooze."  
"Ah, the schmoozing isn't so bad once you get use to it, but yeah, I'd rather be in a garage than in front of a board meeting any day." Tony smiled, "So now that you have thoroughly seduced me, what's next?"   
"What? Me? I did no such thing-"   
"So I seduced you?" Tony asked then grinned, "I could get behind that. The wicked hologram talked me into it!"   
"No, I chose to. I wanted to do that for you, with you." Loki looked at Tony. "I wanted it."  
Tony swallowed hard, “Well that is really damn good to hear.” He finally said. "So now we just...?"  
"We just enjoy the time we have been given and make the most of it." Loki said simply. "Otherwise it is just a waste. I do not want to waste it." He stretched out and sighed into the warm water, "Mmm this is a God send."   
"Yeah, probably the best thing I put into the house." He laughed, "I always wondered why it took me so long to get one."   
Loki smiled, "Well let me thank you for such a splendid idea to utilize this." The warm jets against his back soothed the faint discomfort he had from penetrating himself.   
"So, you come here often?" Tony offered with a cheesy grin.   
Loki rolled his eyes, "About as often as that pick up line I am certain. Did that line even work in your time?"   
"Babe, everything works when I use it." Tony said with a wink, "Part of that whole Stark charm thing."   
Loki shook his head, "You are going to make me roll my eyes right out of my head if you keep talking like that." He slowly sat up and got out of the tub, drying himself and enjoying the way that Tony's eyes still tracked over his body. Feeling desirable was a new, intoxicating feeling for Loki.   
He wrapped in one of the red silk robes with the name "Stark" stitched onto the breast and settled into bed. "Please promise you are not going to watch me sleep."   
Tony laughed, "Only if you want me to."   
"God no, that is about the least sexy thing you could do. That borders onto creepy."   
"You know there was a book in my time that made a lot of people think that was kind of hot." Tony mused, "Something about vampires."   
"And that is why your generation had so many issues." Loki shook his head as he adjusted his pillow before flopping into bed with a content sigh. It was nice, almost domestic, this feeling with Tony.   
"I am going to bed now. Do not burn down the house."   
"Take away all my fun why don't you?"


	22. The First Law

Tony knew he promised he wouldn't watch Loki sleep but here he was, an hour after Loki had closed his eyes, still sitting in the bedroom and watching the thin scientist sleep. What else was he supposed to do?   
When he'd suggested the stupid question, he'd just wanted to learn more about Loki. He'd never guessed that a few questions would lead to one of the hottest things Tony had ever experienced in his life. He really might have to figure out a digital way to masturbate because god he needed to be able to do something with that footage Jarvis recorded. Seeing tightly controlled Loki lose himself like that. Damn.   
It was like watching an act of nature, wild and a little dangerous but mesmerizing. Even sleeping, Loki hypnotized him. His breathing still labored, more than Tony liked, but his features relaxed without that little sarcastic wit, or animosity. He looked younger; he looked at peace. Tony took a deep breath, "Jarvis, alert me if any breathing patterns change, alright?"  
"Of course."   
Tony glanced at Loki once more before he left the room to return to the lab. There was still a whole lot of work to do, and now he was more determined than ever to find a way to make sure Loki lived. He needed to keep this man in his life, no matter the cost. These nanites were the cure and Tony knew it, he just had to find a way to make sure that Loki's body would accept or else all he'd do was kill Loki himself.   
He sighed, and pulled up all the information he had. The body either rejected them as a foreign substance, causing mass inflammation and death, or the nanites were too powerful and would rebuild everything, even healthy tissue, though if Loki could survive the replacement process, he'd be damn near invincible after that.  
Tony ran a hand through his hair and groaned. How the hell did he fix this? The same problem he'd run into when he tried to use it to save himself was tying him up again. He paced around the lab, watching dum-e spin in a circle with a mop his nightly 'cleaning' routine, which Tony had really implemented to keep dum-e from doing anything else 'helpful' in the night. If he spent the night rolling around the mop there was less of a chance that his chemicals would be mixed up or on the floor in the morning.   
Tony smiled faintly as he remembered quite a few mornings coming into the lab to find dum-e helpfully 'fixing' things. He shook his head, "Doing a great job buddy. Just keep that up." He patted dum-e's claw before continuing on his slow pace of the lab.   
Loki's suit was done with its adjustments and Tony had to admit Loki was right, the thinner repulsor flushed better with the sleeker suit and certainly helped to keep a more aerodynamic pattern happening. It looked sharp, Loki had an eye for design, modern, elegant, gothic.   
Or ya know, long, lean, and dark, just like Tony liked his cars. He'd certainly had a thing for blondes and red heads in life but now, his tastes ran decidedly darker and more male, and Tony was just fine with that.   
He turned back to the main console. "Jarvis, could the body survive the Nanos recreating everything?" he asked.   
"Sir, I am not sure that is possible."   
"But if the Nanos keep you alive, they would revive you after any issue, correct?"  
"Uncertain sir. Data is not available." Jarvis answered after a moment.   
Tony sighed, that was the trouble with being the first to do something led to all kinds of unfortunate situations like this where there wasn't an answer because no one had tried it before. Usually that wasn't an issue, but when it was Loki's life on the line, that changed the game.   
Tony sighed, "Alright, well what's the smallest dose you could administer without causing immediate catastrophic reactions?"   
Silence played over the room as the screens lit up with numbers and 3d models rotating across the scenes as Jarvis ran scenarios in fast forward. He finally popped up the answer, 1% would be the smallest possible dose that wouldn't cause an immediate reaction.   
"Would that percentage do anything?"  
"Nanites would begin repairing damaged area but would be too small in number to make measurable difference."   
"They would just keep everything kinda steady?" Tony asked.   
"Yes sir." Tony sighed and shook his head, running his hands through his hair and staring at the numbers on the screen. Somewhere in all of that was the answer to saving Loki and he just couldn't quite get it deciphered. "He is not going to die." Tony promised the silence of the lab. Loki was not going to die as long as Tony Stark was here sorting out this mess.   
When morning came, Tony was still there, pouring over the data, trying to find the right answer, something that would tell him that a higher dose was safe or that the lower dose would let Loki beat whatever it was that was eating his lungs up.   
He finally settled on a 3% strength dose. “Get that rigged up so it’s ready to go, alright?”  
“Of course sir.”   
He glanced to one of the monitors in the corner of the room where a display showed Loki sleeping and kept a monitor of his stats. It felt creepy, but Loki's blood oxygen levels dropped every so often, and Tony wasn't about to let something happen.   
"Sir, a Master Victor is calling for Loki. This is his fourth call in the last five minutes."   
"Victor..." Tony thought for a second before snapping, "That's Loki's annoying coworker. Here let me take it."   
"Sir, I-"  
"Jarvis, give me the call."  
Jarvis seemed to sigh, "Very well."   
"You're calling bright and early!" Tony answered.   
There was a moment of silence before a flustered Victor said, "I thought I was calling Loki."   
"Oh, you are. I just help out around the mansion. He's still asleep. What's going on that you have to call twelve times before 7am?"   
"I need to talk to Loki."   
"He's asleep. You've got me so tell me what's going on Victor."   
Another moment of silence hung over the lab before, "I need Loki's help getting a refinery off shore back online."   
"Online? It's off?" Tony sat up straighter.   
"It's gone totally dark and any security camera we have sent, has been destroyed before it can transmit back anything useful."   
"Wait, destroyed? Like kaboom?"  
"Yes!"  
"Well what the hell is destroying them?"  
"We don't know. None of them have been able to transmit back an image."   
"Shit. Alright, I'll get Loki up. Send the information to him and he'll be there soon."   
"In that suit?"  
"I will report back when Loki's on his way."   
He ended the call. "Jarvis, get the suit ready to go and start the lights up in the bedroom."   
"Yes sir."   
Tony teleported himself up to the master bedroom as Jarvis switched to morning mode and the windows opened, flooding the room with light.   
Loki groaned and curled up, trying to hide his face and get away from the light. "Jarvis!" He whined, kicking his feet.   
"Rise and shine hot shot!"   
Loki squinted, managing to glare towards Tony. "This is not funny Stark."   
"Oh, you're mad. Look, I'm not just messing with you. Victor's been calling you nonstop so I finally took one of the calls. He says one of the off the coast refineries is offline."   
"He what?" Loki sat up, his hair was in wild poufy curls around him as he stared at Tony.   
If they hadn't been in a hurry, Tony would have had to make a comment about those curls. Instead he made sure to take a picture of that and store it on his personal drives then answered, "Yep. He just sent over the data and I've got Jarvis prepping the suit."   
"Do they know what is causing the issue?" Loki asked as he rolled out of bed, and stripped out of Tony's robe.   
Tony tilted his head, admiring the view as Loki slid into a pair of underwear, sweatpants and a simple t-shirt.   
"Nope, he said any bots they sent over there have been destroyed before they can really give back an image about what's going on."   
"Destroyed? By what? There should not be any hostile forces on those locations."   
"Look, your guess is probably better than mine, but that's what Victor said. They have no idea what's going on but the site is dark as far as they are concerned and that's a big problem."  
Loki nodded, "It is better than one of the mainland locations going down, but it still is a major problem." Loki pulled his hair into a low ponytail, though a few curls still poked out. He hurried down the stairs and Tony beat him down to the suit, sliding into it just a few moments before Loki. Loki stepped in and let the suit wrap around him.   
God it really was something to get to virtually feel Loki like this, probably the closest Tony would get to actually being able to touch Loki. He shook that thought off as he pulled up the information Victor had sent over and targeted the problem location and got the thrusters ready to go. As soon as they reached the balcony, Tony took off, heading towards the refinery at full speed.   
While they traveled, Loki kept looking at the information sent, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. Tony watched the health monitors but for the moment, Loki held steady.  
"So, any idea what could cause this kind of failure system wide?" Tony asked as the suit shot across the sky. He made sure to send Victor a message assuring him that Loki was on the way.   
"No. I have never seen the system go completely dark before." Loki answered after a moment, "Let alone what could be displaying aggressive tendencies and destroying the camera bots."  
"Is it possible some group has taken it over and severed external communications? Maybe just shooting down the cameras your guys are sending?"   
Loki frowned, "It is possible, but even the most militant groups would not want to shut down the air refineries. They are what keep the air clean enough for us to live."   
"There's some crazy people out there Lokes."   
"I suppose so but this would have to be a highly technical group to pull off that kind of takeover and for someone with enough training to know how to do this would be incredibly problematic. How would someone learn all they have to know to run those systems and still want to shut them down?"  
"Maybe they haven't shut it down, maybe it's just operating off of your grid now?"   
Loki frowned, "Anything is possible I suppose, but I do not know of any groups who would do something like that. The Ten Rings were taken out years ago, and the remaining members hunted down."   
"Okay. Guess you all deal with terrorists a little differently than we did in my day." Tony said after a moment. "Any major updates to guns in the past 100 years?"   
"Guns?" Loki paused, "Oh, yes. There are fewer metal bullets and more focused laser shots."  
Tony groaned, "Awesome, well we'll just have to be on our toes, won't we?"  
"The suit cannot resist that type of attack?"  
"Well I can resist anti-grenade attacks but focused lasers? That I'm not sure about. Probably for at least a few seconds. Long enough to get away for sure." Tony said, "Hey, hey, don't with the worried face. I'm going to take care of you. Nothing's going to happen. I promise."   
Loki took a deep breath and Tony's sensors registered an elevated heart rate.  
"There it is." Tony said as the facility came into view. "Where do we need to land?"   
"Any sign of hostiles?" Loki asked.   
Tony did a quick scan, "Weird. Everything shows up totally normal."   
Loki frowned, "I do not like this." He took another deep breath, "There is a landing bay on the eastern side. That is the best point of entry. It will lead directly to-"   
Something righted off of the armor and for a moment, they spun across the sky before Tony righted the suit, "The hell?"   
He ran a quick look back over the footage, "Someone shot us." He muttered, sweeping the platform again but still nothing popped up as out of the ordinary. Nothing.   
"Alright, let's go in for a landing and get a ground level look." Tony finally said.   
Loki's heart rate monitor beeped in soft warning before slowing again as Loki nodded, "Alright."   
Tony guided the suit down to the landing bay Loki had mentioned, and braced as they touched down. Nothing moved or attempted to swarm around them. Just silence, and that made Tony more nervous. An enemy you couldn't see or hear did not sound like a good thing to deal with.   
"Is there anyone out there?" Loki called.  
More silence as Loki stepped forward. Tony let him lead for the moment since Tony didn't know where they were going. He could see the layout of the place, but didn't really know what was where or how to read it. It didn't make sense to him. He kept his focus on watching for enemies; someone on this damn thing was shooting things down and had already taken a shot at them. That didn't bode too well as far as he was concerned.   
When no one answered Loki's response, he picked up his pace, the heart monitor beeping in warning again before there was a soft hiss and Tony released some oxygen into the suit. Loki took a deep breath, "Thanks." He murmured, "The control room is right ahead. Any major problems will be documented there. It is strange though."   
"What's that?"   
"The air around here. It looks fine, does it not? No discoloration, no smokiness. The refinery is still running and fully operational, it just is somehow not connecting with our server."   
"That's better than the alternative right?" Tony asked.   
"Maybe." Loki finally said, "Now, we just need to-"   
Another hard metal object hit the shoulder of the suit, knocking Loki backwards. Tony corrected for it and spun around in time to see a strange robot that reminded him of an upgraded dum-e staring them down, and wielding a large nail gun. The robot had two arms and was cast in a dark metal. Four heavy-duty wheels supported its bulky body, and rolled easily across the platform.  
"What is-" Another shot hit the mask.  
Tony growled and targeted the little object, dispatching it with a quick shot. The bot sparked then sagged to the ground.   
"Okay, what is that?" Tony asked.   
Loki took a moment to answer, "Those are repair drones. There are hundreds in every facility. They keep everything running smoothly and get into areas that would be too hazardous for human workers to repair."   
"So, they're not normally attacking people?"   
"No. No, they do not even have any built in AI, they are tied in to the mainframe of the operating center to match its commands."   
"And you said there were hundreds of them?"   
Loki swallowed hard and his heart rate began to elevate again. "I did."   
"Well, we better figure out what's wrong and get out of here before we have to destroy anymore darth dum-e clones, alright?"   
Loki nodded and hurried over to the door, keying in the access code. The door did not immediately respond though.  
"That the right code?" Tony asked.   
"I have not forgotten my access codes!" Loki snapped.   
"Well then."   
Another shot bounced off the armor. Tony glanced behind them where dozens of those nail bots were gathering. He finally just took over the suit, and reached up to grab the entryway door, and pulled with all of the suit's might. The doorframe held for a moment before ripping off its hinges. Without losing a beat, he swung the door around and chucked into the growing group of little bots, and watched as the door crushed them.   
"Please try to refrain from doing any more unnecessary damage to the site, please?"   
Tony snorted, "Come on, that was needed. Now, let's get in there and see what's under the hood, shall we?"   
Loki sighed and headed inside, all of the consoles looked untouched and according to the statistics up on the screen, everything was operating at 100%.  
"Wow, full 100s across the board." Tony whistled.   
Loki frowned, "Full 100% across the board is not a sustainable level of running."   
"What?"  
"All of the processes are at 100%, even the ones that should be only at a 1 or 2% level. This... this is all wrong." Loki shook his head and hurried over for the keyboard, frowning when his access code again didn't generate a response.   
"You locked out?" Tony asked.   
Loki frowned, "Well, thankfully my back door ought to still be accessible."   
"Oh don't say those kinds of things while we're working babe." Tony said.   
Loki didn't respond as he focused on his work, and Tony had to shake his head at the seamlessly hidden door Loki had created in the code.   
"You're a sneaky bastard." He murmured.  
Loki didn't answer, but just continued with his work, getting into the system and trying to see what had gone wrong. He slid into the code, letting it burst across the screens in the suit as he tried to study them.   
"What is this?" Loki sighed, "This is... this is not right."   
"What are you finding?" Tony asked, looking back towards the busted down door. So far nothing had come to attack, but whatever those things were still had to be out there.   
"This is all wrong. The coding here is... It is entirely corrupt. Everything is trying to run at 100% but doing that is just going to destroy the lab."  
"Wait, what?"  
"I do not know what this is, but this is not the program I created. Something else is trying to run this system and it is going to run it into self-destruct very soon if it is not shut down and reconfigured.   
"Well get working."   
"I need out of the suit."  
"What?"  
"I need out of the suit. I cannot type well in this thing. You guard me and I will work on getting this rebooted."   
"Loki..."  
"Look the air quality is fine here, and as long as you can keep me from getting hit by any of those nail guns then I will be fine."   
Tony tried to come up with an argument, but there wasn't time. He groaned, but relented, "Fine, but the second the air quality starts to go, you are getting your ass right back in this suit."   
Loki smiled lightly, "I am so glad you are here to keep an eye on my ass."   
"Ha-ha." Tony rolled his eyes, and opened the suit.   
Loki slid out of the metal encasement and hurried over to the console where his fingers began to fly over the keypads, working almost faster than Tony could track. Alright, Loki was faster out of the suit than in it.   
He turned his attention back to the door and closed up the suit as he stepped into the doorway. Nothing was going to get through him.


	23. Penumbra

__

A failure like this had to be a once in a lifetime event, but Loki couldn't wrap his head around what was going wrong here. How could the program have so deteriorated to the point that it was almost an entirely new program? He'd never seen anything like it.

He took a deep breath and expanded out the code, looking through it. A lnew language sprawled around him in bits and pieces that constantly shifted just as he tried to get hold of it. The code rewrote as fast as Loki translated. It shifted across the refinery, taking control of various sections, sending them into full drive one after another.

Internal temperatures soared and alarms began to blare across the board.

“Shit.” Loki muttered, fingers flying over the keys and activating the emergency cool down protocol. It would shut down the actual process of purifying the air for a few minutes but otherwise they were heading for a full on shut down in just a matter of minutes.

It took several minutes for the cool down command to be accepted and the reactor began the process but then the same sneaky bits of code began to weasel their way into the system, cutting through the commands and starting to boot everything back up again.

“Tony?” Loki called over his shoulders.

“Yeah?” The suit yelled back.

“Care to give me quick pick up? I need to get to the reactor and manually start the cool down procedure or this whole place is going to melt down.”

“You got it babe.”

It took only a second for the suit to be wrapping around Loki’s body, scooping him back safely inside.

“You’re gonna have to lead the way cause I can’t figure out how the hell this place is put together.”

Loki smiled, “Do not worry. You are in good hands.”

He directed the suit out of the control room, shooting down a few more repair bots before Loki turned them down another hallway.

“When they built this were they trying to make it like some kind of maze?” Tony asked.

“No, it was built this way so that if an emergency shut down had to occur there would be more space to contain the leakage from the reactor. It helps create a self contained fire trap so to speak.

“So this was built just so it could safely blow up? That’s a really comforting thought.”

“That is only as a last resort option or if it overheats.” Loki said, turning left then left then right before starting down a metal staircase that finally led to a thick metal door.

He took a deep breath and keyed in his emergency over ride code. For several long seconds the system didn’t acknowledge then finally the door opened and they stepped inside.

The heat immediately blasted against the suit, and Tony whistled, “Yeah, this is getting more than a little toasty in here.”

“This way.” Loki guided the suit around a safety railing but Tony couldn’t resist peering over the edge and looking down towards the reactor.

The circular shape and pale teal coloring instantly made him think of his reactor. “I’ll be damned. They did use my technology.”

“Yes, it just took 75 years to master. Now come on, we need to start the cool down sequence.”

“And how exactly are we going to cool it down?” Tony asked.

“I will activate my emergency override code, and that will let me assess the manual override for the cool down.”

“Uh-huh. And what makes it cool down?”

“It will release several thousands gallons of salt water into this chamber.”

“You didn’t think that would be important to mention?”

“We will have about half a minute to get out of the room before the doors seal off. Then it will drain itself and return to normal function. It will be fine.”

“Uh-huh…” Tony said again, eyeing the reactor before following Loki’s lead towards the control panel in here.

Loki very carefully typed in the code. A few seconds pause then, “Access denied.”

Loki stared up at the screen for a few moments, “It is denying me access.”

“The system?”

Loki nodded, staring at the monitor before murmuring something under his breath, “They cannot fire me anyways.”  He typed in a different code.

“What is that?”

“Victor’s emergency override code.” Loki said.

The system stayed silent for several seconds before, “Access granted.”

Loki sighed and tapped a few more keys before a side panel unlocked and opened. Loki peered inside where several buttons and switches flashed in varying shades of red.

“Uh… cut the red wire?” Tony joked.

Loki frowned and looked over everything before flipping three of the switches and then pressing a button. Immediately, an alarm began blaring overhead.

Loki slammed the panel door shut, “We need to go.” He said.

A deafening roar split the air overhead and water began pouring down from the ceiling and over the reactor. Steam filled the air.

“Now Tony!”

“Right, right, we’re moving!” Tony moved around the edge of the platform and back towards the door, sliding out just a few seconds before it slammed shut.

“And everything in there will be fine?” He asked.

Loki nodded, “Now we need to get back to the control room and stop it from repeating this overheating problem.”

He directed Tony back through the halls and to the control panel where more bots swarmed around them. “You deal with them, and I will get this coding under control.”

“Alright fine.” Tony opened the suit and Loki hurried over to the control panel where he could already see the coding working to try to shut off the cool down, starting to initiate the draining of the water far too early.

“Dammit.” Loki growled, and tried again to work faster than the coding.

For a few seconds he outran it, reworking the fried system and trying to restore order but then the coding caught up with him. Loki’s work began deleting itself just as fast as he could type it and then a firewall ripped up and threw Loki out of the system as all the systems began boiling towards a full meltdown.

He swallowed hard, only one option left. He pulled the small microkey out of his small set of tools he always kept in his pocket and plugged the key in.

It took a second for the system to register and Loki didn’t hesitate before he pounded in the emergency shut down and self destruct code. That would at least contain the corruption.

"Loki, what the hell are you doing!?" Tony turned towards him as Loki deactivated the refinery.

"Turning it off." Loki answered.

"The hell is wrong with you?"

The suit swooped in towards Loki but a huge gust of air slammed into the suit, knocking it backwards. Loki braced against it and clawed back over to the console as he typed in the self-destruct code. Whatever this bug was, it had taken over this refinery and this was the only way to contain it.

He coughed as the air around him thickened with smog and smoke. He clawed his way towards the door, trying to yell for Tony but no sound would come out of his lips. Instead he felt the strength leaving his body, gasping and wheezing for air as he looked up and spotted several of the robot bots rolling towards him, their guns raised up. A blast of thunder slammed into him and then a heavy shape was on top of him.

The rest of the bullets richened off of the armor as Tony pulled Loki close and shielded him.

The suit opened up and Loki slumped inside, focusing on breathing.

"Loki? What the fuck was that?"

"We have to go." Loki wheezed out. "Self destruct."

"Shit, shit, god dammit." Tony spun the suit and prepared the repulsors. In the next instant, the sky flew towards them as they streaked into the clouds with bullets flying after him.

"Next time, warn me about any of your stupid, god damn-"

"Stark."

"What? Your stupid plan just about-"

"I am bleeding."

"You what!?"

Scans of Loki's body flared onto the screen and Loki coughed as he watched the scanned image of him highlight a metal fragment in the left side of his chest, burying into his lungs, right near the damned mass. Loki coughed, and took a breath that sounded more liquid than air.

"NO, no, no. Don't you dare do this to me." Tony said, and the suit picked up speed.

Loki closed his eyes and focused on the feeling of the air whipping around them. "3...2....1."

"What are you-"

The skies shook and fire burst across the horizon before smoke bloomed over the visor.

"I said I wanted to go out like a forest fire." Loki murmured.

"You're not going anywhere." Tony said, "Now stop talking."

"I like you Tony Stark."

"Loki, don't do this."

"I did not mean to. I did not think... I am sorry. But...I am glad-"

"No, stop it. I'm not listening to this."

"Thank you. You can have Jarvis mimic....mimic my voice and confirm whatever you want done with the house...and dum-e... take care of him."

"We're not doing anything with the house because it's still yours, so shut up. I don't care what you're saying, it doesn't matter."

Loki's chest didn't hurt anymore, nothing hurt anymore. He felt like just a mass of shapeless energy floating weightless and timeless.

"I am sorry Tony."

"No, fuck you Loki. No!"

Loki took a long breath. Water rushed in to greet him and then he floated weightless into a silent and still darkness.


	24. Corona

“Jarvis, get nanites ready!”

"Sir there is no-"

"I don't care Jarvis! Introduce nanites NOW!"

"Sir-"

"Jarvis, do it!"

"...of course sir."

A needle pricked into the crux of Loki's elbow, firmly seating itself in his arm before beginning the administration process. Tony paced around the room. Loki hadn't had a pulse for 3 minutes and 28 seconds. The flight back to the mansion in total silence, aside from Tony's screaming every obscenity in the book at Loki, left Tony's head ringing, and the suit probably with major damage from breaking the sound barrier that many times. He'd broken his record for fastest speed reached but he couldn't have cared less.

"Anything?" Tony asked.

"Dose still being administered. Results will be in shortly." Jarvis said, "But sir-"

"I don't want to hear it right now Jarvis." Tony held up his hands, continuing to pace. "We done with administering the nanites Jarvis?"

"Yes sir."

"What're the stats?" Tony asked, pacing in circles around Loki.

The thin man's pale skin began to turn to a faintly blue, grey shade.

"Jarvis?" Tony said again.

"Taking statistics now." Jarvis reported, "Nanites are incorporated into the blood stream, and appear to be accepted."

"Stats?"

"I have a pulse."

Tony nodded, letting the suit come around his arms and forearms so he could carefully remove Loki's shirt and get to the wound in his chest. "The bullet fragment still in there Jay?"

"Yes sir." He said.

"Are there nanites heading that way?"

"Affirmative sir, nanites are heading to the areas of most damage first. Majority of repair is heading towards the bullet wounds."

"And the rest of them?"

"They are attempting to repair damage done by stress and lack of oxygen."

"Vitals?" Tony asked, running his fingers through Loki's hair. The feeling of being able to touch Loki, even with just the metal of the suit, made Tony's heart race (well if he had one).

"I will alert you if there are any changes to the vitals sir."

"Just, put them up on the screen and let me focus on them. I want every detail you've got, running live on those screens." He said.

"Of course sir."

Tony took a deep breath as all of the stats appeared live in front of him. Everything stayed low, but steady, and for right now, that was enough. Loki was alive, and that would have to be enough for right now.

Tony kept stringing his fingers through Loki's hair, "You're a real jerk sometimes you know. Jumping out of the suit like that. You just..." He took a deep breath, "Just be okay, alright? I don't have anyone else right now, so just you've got to be okay." He murmured, running his fingers over Loki's cheeks, "You just focus on getting better; I'll take care of those programs. They don't have a chance against Tony Stark, don't you even worry your pretty little head."

He leaned in to kiss Loki's cheek, knowing that he'd just phase through, but needing that contact.

"Jarvis, open holoscreen with the data that we pulled before everything went to hell in the refinery."

"Yes sir. Here is all of the data for the refinery before it was sent into self destruct."

Tony nodded, scanning over the lines of code, not something he recognized, but he was Tony fucking Stark, that wouldn't stop him. A new language to learn was no big deal for him.

"Okay, show me the code from some of the ones that are still operational. Let's see what's going on here."

"Accessing now." It took a few moments before Jarvis pulled up an operational series of coding and compared the two. "Highlight areas that are different."

"Highlighting sir."

"You highlighted everything but the start and end parts Jarvis."

"I am aware of sir. You asked me to highlight the areas of difference."

"So this is basically an entirely different thing."

"There are a few areas of similarity but the codes are quite different yes sir."

Tony sighed and looked back over it, "Hell, what is this mess?" He shook his head, "Any origins on where this came from? Do we have what could have happened?"

"Unsure sir. Creation date is dated today."

"Today? There's no way that this happened in one day. No one is fast enough to recode an entire thing like this in a single day."

"That is all the information I have sir, my apologies."

"No worries Jarvis. I'll figure it out. I'll fix everything." He looked down at Loki then glanced over to Loki's vitals and scans.

"Alright, let's keep at this Jarvis, we need to have it figured out before Loki wakes up? Nice little present for him, oh and go ahead and remove that IV."

"Yes sir." He said and slowly the IV was removed.

Tony put pressure on the puncture and wrapped it, kissing the top of Loki's head before hurrying back to his work consoles and into the code. He hadn't had a project like this in a lifetime, something totally foreign. It made him feel like back when he was first making dum-e without knowing what the hell he was doing.

He glanced at the little robot as it rolled by with a mop in hand, and smirked faintly, hopefully this would turn out a little more sophisticated than dum-e had at the very least.

XXX

The next refinery went rogue 12 hours later. Tony was still elbow deep in the first set of corrupted code when the first call from Victor came in. Jarvis took the message and Tony looked down at Loki, still unconscious at his side. He sighed, "Jarvis, tell this dick that Loki's on the way then get the suit ready."

"Repairs are not-"

"Don't care. Just have it ready in three."

"Yes sir."

Tony ran his fingers through Loki's hair, loving how it curled just the faintest around the metal bits of the suit. "I'll be back soon okay? You just keep doing what you're doing." He said softly before standing up and going to slide into the suit. "I want Loki's stats kept on my console at all times, got it?"

"Of course sir. Shall I alert you if there are any dramatic shifts in vitals?"

"Good to see that mind reader program is still working." Tony smiled faintly, "Yep. Any changes you let me know immediately. Now, make sure you get a good record of any data you can get hold of at this place."

"Shall we go then sir?"

Tony took a deep breath, not wanting to leave Loki, but...

"Let's do this."

 

This refinery focused in a more populated area so no just self-destructing it. Tony hadn't decided what he was going to do yet, but winging it had worked for him most of his life so why mess with a good thing now? "Alright, Jarvis, it's just you and me buddy. Let's do this."

Jarvis suggested the best landing option, then highlighted three repair robots starting to head towards him. "Let's light 'em up."

The suit moved with barely a thought, an automatic reaction that required nothing more than reacting to the scene around him and sending three perfectly placed blast that sent the little bots into bits.

The suit landed with a thud and Tony made his way along the pathways with Jarvis guiding him though the mess of pathways and tunnels towards the main console booth. Not knowing where the hell you were going, did slow things up a bit.

The door resisted again but Tony didn't even both playing nice, instead just ripping it open and then using the door to block the pathway to keep those annoying little pests from getting in his way.

"You recording all this?" Tony asked as he watched the strange code sprawl across the array of screens. This one didn't seem quite as corrupted, Tony at least recognized a few bits of Loki's original coding, though that was rapidly being rewritten.

"The program is rewriting itself?" Tony frowned, now that didn't make sense.

He shook his head; he could make sense of it later, now all he needed was to get it back to normal without having to self-destruct. "Alright, Jarvis, isolate original coding and protect it, fire wall it up."

"Implementing fire wall now."

The rewritings stopped, stuttering against Jarvis' firewall, hell it probably didn't know what to do against 100 year old coding.

"Alright, replace data with Loki's original file." Tony said, "Then isolate rogue coding in a fire wall."

Jarvis took a few moments to respond before Tony watched the coding start to switch. Jarvis rounded up the rogue sections and began to activate the original code as he pasted it back into proper place. Tony watched as the levels on the refinery began to reset and return to normal.

But now what? The second he left, Jarvis' firewall would fall and that little bit of hell code would take over again. "Methods for disposal Jarvis?"

"Unsure sir. Code is attacking firewall."

"Shit." Tony looked around, trying to figure out what to do.

"Jarvis, hold the firewall, I'll be right back."

He bolted out of the suit, leaving it in place, hooked up to the consoles as he eased through the walls and found one of the repair bots, "Come here little asshole." He forced his way into the robot, taking over it and speeding it past the door blockade and into the command center.

"Sir, fire wall is failing."

"I've got it, don't worry." Tony said as he got back into the suit and then connected the suit to the repair bot and the console system. "Send all corrupt coding into external drive bot."

"Sir?"

"Use the suit to transfer the code. It won't react to this coding."

"Sir, I-"

"Jarvis, do it!"

"Starting transfer now."

Tony jolted up right as white-hot code ripped through him and the suit and flowed into the repair bot at his side. It beeped and flashed, making jolty, jerky movements.

"Sir..?" Jarvis' voice distorted through the speakers.

"Is the transfer done?" Tony asked, groaning with his head spinning and his vision blurring.

"Transfer complete. Service bot above capacity and going to self destruct."

"God, why does everything blow up now?" He groaned as he forced the suit to move and rip free of the console plug-ins before grabbing the beeping bot and blasting from the control room and out of the refinery.

As soon as he was mostly clear of the base, he fired up towards the sky, waiting to hit the right altitude before dropping the bot and tracking it. A red light began to flash on it and as it started to plummet towards the earth, the atmospheric changes caught up with it and the bot disintegrated and tiny fragments rained down towards the ground.

"Get me home Jarvis." Tony said, his head still spinning and his brain feeling fried.

"Of course sir."

Tony ran over calculations in his head, eyes closed as Jarvis steered the suit then he tried to recite the digits of pi. About 27 numbers in, he felt the telltale drop of the suit and phased out of it to just lay on the floor and try to refocus.

"Jarvis, my code okay?"

"There has been some damage to the areas of coding that are related to your presence."

"Clean it up."

"Repairing now."

Strange feeling your body flicker in and out of existence, and then, like a jigsaw puzzle being completed, suddenly, he was whole and could breath again. He sat up and shook his head, "Well, let's not try for a repeat of that, huh?" He sighed. "Alright, well, break's over, let's get everything just recorded onto some screens for Loki to review as soon as he's up again."

"Of course sir, preparing data now."

Tony tapped his finger against his leg and glanced towards Loki. He hadn't moved an inch from where Tony'd laid him out on one of the workbenches. He frowned and sighed, going back over to the suit and putting it back on.

"Sir, what are you-"

"He ought to be comfortable." Tony murmured, gently picking Loki up and carrying him up to the bedroom. Dum-e followed behind him, chirping all the way.

Tony laid Loki out in the bed and tucked him, before gently brushing some of the hair out of Loki's face. Damn, gorgeous didn't even begin to cover it. Loki was a god. Hell those cheekbones could probably cut glass and then some. What the hell did they make their people out of to get them this gorgeous?

He sat on the edge of the bed, "Any time you're done with your little nap you can get up you know. Cause if you're trying to play Snow White, it ain't gonna work, I can't give you a kiss."

Loki didn't respond.

Tony leaned over him and pressed the head of the suit against Loki's forehead, "Please get up soon. I need you."

He stayed there for just a moment before getting up, "Dum-e, you keep an eye on him, anything weird start to happen and you get me."

Dum-e chirped and rolled over to Loki's side.

Tony reluctantly went back down stairs and threw himself into reviewing this code that'd tried to take him out. Hell, if he were a program in a language that thing understood, he probably would've been wiped out. For once being vintage played in his favor.

"Sir?"

"What is it Jarvis? I told you not now, I'm concentrating."

"Dum-e is attempting to get your attention."

"Dum-e, I'm busy right now, go aw- Dum-e?" Tony spun in his seat to see the little bot flapping its arm and rolling in circles. "Loki?" He asked, glancing back at the screen with Loki's vitals, everything had improved drastically but now the heart rate was getting a little too elevated.

"Shit." Tony slid into the suit and hurried up to the bedroom.

Loki tossed and turned on the bed, groaning in pain.

"Loki?" Tony hurried to his side, "Hey, hey babe, I'm right here." He took hold of Loki's hand, careful to not let the suit apply too much pressure.

Loki gripped at his hand and continued tossing, "Hey, it's..." Tony paused when he saw a sliver of metal working its way up through the bullet wound in Loki's chest. Blood oozed out and the bullet slid out and rolled across the bed to clatter onto the floor.

"Loki?" Tony tried, leaning over him and taking a deep breath when sharp green eyes opened to stare at him, confused but alive. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2015 everyone!


	25. Apastron

The sound of bones crunching and groaning against one another filled his ears. The popping sounds like shooting stars across the dark still of his mind. For the first time Loki could ever recall, it didn't hurt to breath. In fact, he couldn't feel himself breathing at all, but rather than alarming him, instead his body felt like all the weight had been pulled from his shoulders and thrown into the atmosphere where it could never touch him again.

If this was what death was like, Loki wouldn't mind spending eternity like this, even if the strange sound of gnawing in his blood and bones grated against his ears.

Lights played behind his eyes (were his eyes even closed? Did he even have eyes anymore?) in his own private aurora borealis. But the noise kept growing louder. Loki frowned and tried to focus on the sound, but it felt like it came from right beside his ear, constantly following around him and getting louder each time he tried to identify it. Metal burned against his mouth then his tongue, tasting like rancid pennies and feeling like something was running around his throat. Slowly his body began to piece itself back together, and he could identify where his fingers, arms, AND shoulders were, or at least that he had them.

Then the pain began rolling in over his body, waking up his chest, and the rest of his body as pain crashed over him, and he swore he could feel himself being ripped apart and then knitted back together by invisible hands using his blood as the thread to tie him together.

"Loki!"

A voice cut through the pain and the swirling aurora around him. He tried to place the voice but...

"Loki! Get up! Come on babe, you've got to be okay."

Babe? Who called him that? He felt the pain bloom in bright orange, red and yellow behind his eyes. Red.

Red and gold.

He knew those colors. The burning painful colors pulled together, swirling into the face of a man leaning over him, "Loki!"

Loki gasped, choking as air forced its way into his lungs, and he knew exactly how a fish pulled out of water felt in that instant. He gasped and choked, clenching tightly at the hand holding onto him.

He closed his eyes against the burning lights of the space around him and focused on just trying to breathe in slow, deep breaths. His chest hurt, but the pain didn't feel crushing anymore, instead it felt like pins digging through his bloodstream with thread.

"Loki? Babe, you okay?" That voice asked again.

He opened his eyes and looked to the man again. He knew him. He knew him...

The pin thread blood rushed up his neck and he moaned as it hit his head and everything came rushing back in a tidal wave that dragged him under a tumultuous sea of faces, and moments that crashed around him. The mansion, dum-e, Jarvis, Tony, the suit, the refinery, the shot to his shoulder. He coughed and gripped tighter at the firm hand in his grasp.

A solid hand...?

He forced his eyes open again and squinted towards the hand holding onto him. The sleek black of the suit met his gaze, connected to the still very holographic Tony Stark who sat by his side, smiling widely. "Hey there hot shot."

"I am alive?" Loki asked, his voice croaked from disuse. "...water?"

Tony nodded, letting go of Loki's hand long enough to go get some water and bring it over to Loki.

Loki sat himself up and eagerly drank the entire glass.

Tony smiled a little more, "Got some soup if you're hungry."

Loki nodded, "Thank you," he murmured, but didn't attempt to stand up yet. "You are certain I am alive?"

Tony smiled, "Positive babe. Not your time to clock out yet."

"How am I not in the hospital?"

"We got you covered here between me and Jarvis. Figured you'd rather be at home than carted across the city in the arms of Iron Man again. Romantic as that might be." Tony grinned.

"How long have I been out?" He put a hand to his head, everything still felt fuzzy around him, like his body was trying to get the world in focus.

"Um well..." Tony frowned, "Jarvis, help me out here."

"Loki has been unconscious for two days, ten hours and 43 minutes."

"Two days and you did not think to call the hospital?" Loki stared at Tony.

"Look, I was monitoring your stats the whole time!" Tony protested, "I would have gotten you to a hospital if you needed it. Besides I thought you'd be happy not being dragged off to the hospital for some random tests and surgeries that you didn't want."

Loki took a deep breath, "Yes, you are right. I am sorry. I am just feeling a bit disoriented."

"What do you mean?" Tony frowned, "Jarvis, any abnormalities?"

"Heart rate is increased and brain activity is higher than normal but vitals are steady and there are no signs of distress." Jarvis answered after a moment.

"Just, what happened?" Loki asked.

"What do you remember?" Tony asked, reaching over to take Loki's hand again.

It felt natural to let his hand fall into Tony's grip. "I remember the refinery and starting the self destruct mode, everything after that is a bit of a blur."

"Well yeah, you continued that whole doing things without telling me plan and activated self destruct then got yourself shot. I got you back here and worked to get you stabilized." Tony said, "I'm still pissed you didn't tell me what your plan was."

"Well I think I learned my lesson." Loki tried a smile.

Tony relaxed a bit, "You sure you're feeling okay?" He asked.

Loki nodded, "I do. I feel a little confused and foggy, but otherwise I feel better than I have in a long time. Maybe I just finally caught up on all the sleep I have missed over a lifetime."

Tony grinned, "Getting your sense of humor back I see?"

"Hopefully my biting wit will be back soon too." He said as he slowly sat up again and carefully put his feet to the ground. Holding tightly to Tony for support, he stood.

For a moment, the room swirled around him in a web of colors then it steadied itself again and he made his way to the kitchen. Tony guided him to the table and got Loki sitting down before he went and put together a bowl of soup.

"Did you make chicken noodle for me?" Loki asked.

"Uh no, that would have just resulted in fires and tears. Jarvis made it."

"Thank you Jarvis."

"My pleasure."

Loki took a hesitant sip of the soup, and the second the liquid hit his mouth, his stomach roared to life, ravenous. Loki devoured three bowls of the soup, much to Tony's shock, before he sagged back into his seat and took another few deep breaths. "I think I feel human again." He murmured.

"You sure? You're eating enough for two or three humans." Tony teased.

Loki smiled and shook his head, before sitting up straight. "God, the refinery. What happened to it? Did the self destruct take?"

"Yep. It went boom real good. Handy little feature, but it would have been nice to know about from the get go. Would have been really helpful..."

Loki nodded then glanced at Tony and frowned, "Helpful? What else did I miss?"

Tony sighed, "Don't freak out."

"Stark..."

"There might have been a small issue at another refinery while you were unconscious."

"What!?" Loki slammed back from his chair. It clattered to the floor behind him.

"It's fine. Everything is dealt with and is just dandy, don't worry."

"What did you do?"

"I fixed it!" Tony insisted, "I uh... transferred the bad bits of code into a repair bot guy and then flung it through the atmosphere."

"How did you transfer that kind of data without total corruption?"

"It went through me."

"You what?"

"God, stop looking at me like that. It was fine. Everything's fine."

"And you yell at me for ridiculous plans that I do not tell you about and you go letting corrupted software transfer through YOUR PROGRAM!"

"Loki, it was fine. My coding is a language it doesn't know so it couldn't have interacted with me."

"And after you deleted the corrupted section?"

"I just left it empty and without power and flew off into the sunset dramatically. Jesus, give me some credit here, I reinstalled the clean reboot version you have in your things. It was up and fully operational. That Victor whoever dude even called you to tell you great job. Surprised he hasn't called back with some new crisis he needs help with. It's a wonder that place functions without you at all."

"Jarvis, can you pull up all the data from the second refinery crash that Tony handled. I want to review all of it."

"That data is already compiled sir. I will pull it up for you in the lab-"

"On the living room screens. You're still recovering." Tony cut Jarvis off.

"Of course sir."

Loki nodded and headed into the living settling onto the couch and wrapping up in one of the blankets. That strange gnawing noise still echoed in his ears but now that he was accustomed to it, it almost became a soothing white noise. Perhaps he had some sort of inner ear damage that was still healing and that was where these strange noises came from.

He looked over the data as Tony sat beside him. "This is the same issue as the first failure."

"Yeah I noticed." Tony sighed, "Was doing a pretty bang up job on running itself into the ground too with all the nice little security bots again. Jarvis is still buffing the dings out of the main body of the armor."

"A thrilling job." Jarvis snarked.

Loki smiled faintly as he continued studying the code. "It is not identical though, it almost appears like a second version, updated to deal with some of the problems from the first. This moves a lot faster and more ruthlessly. It cut through the system in a matter of minutes, not hours."

"So whoever is doing this, is getting better."

"Creating an entire update in the span of a day or two is not possible, not with something this complicated. It would take a team working 80 hours to finish something like this in a week."

He frowned when a single line caught his attention. He paused the coding and zoomed in on the one line, his frown deepening before he got to his feet. "Jarvis, when Victor was here was there a data breech of any sort?"

"Checking time log now. “Jarvis said, and a few seconds later, "Unidentified data access from living room at 8:37 am corresponds with Victor's visit."

"Shit." Loki sank down into the couch, putting his head in his hands.

"Lokes?" Tony stepped over to his side, "What's going on?"

"I think Victor has activated an AI I developed and abandoned." Loki murmured.

"Say what?"

Loki took a deep breath, "Before I left I started the AI Ultron."

"Oh that's the one that you said was kinda crazy and didn't work right?" Tony asked.

Loki nodded, "I believe Victor has taken it and is not activating it."

"Well, if he just got that one place, problem dealt with, right?"

Loki shook his head, “No. I have to talk to Victor."

"Calling now." Jarvis said.

The ring tone vibrated across the room but no one picked up and it went to voicemail. "Try office phone."

The next number rang through to voicemail.

Loki frowned, "Get me his home address and directions."

"I'm going with you." Tony stood up.

"No you are not."

"Loki!"

"I need you here, watching the other refineries for any other problems. If something pops up, I need you to call me and then come pick me up."

Tony sighed but nodded, "Aye-aye captain. You must be feeling better."

"Like a new man." Loki hurried up stairs, getting himself dressed in some semi respectable clothes before pulling out his phone and grabbing the directions from Jarvis.

"Contact me if anything even looks faintly off balance. This next hit is probably going to move even faster."

Tony saluted, "I'll hail you the second one of them starts looking at me funny."

Loki smiled lightly, and leaned over to kiss Tony's hands, still wrapped in the suit and tangible to him.

"Be safe babe."

"You too Tony." Loki hurried out the door and onto his bike for the quick drive to Victor's beachfront house.

XXX

The house stood immaculately just in front of the shore of the beach. Victor had bought it and shown everyone pictures of it in the office, hosting several parties in it and claiming that the bonus from their latest AI had paid for everything.

Now, the house stood quiet and dark as Loki walked up to the front and rang the doorbell. It clanged loudly, echoing around the house but no one answered. Loki tried to peer through the windows into the mansion, but nothing moved or showed any signs of life.

'Victor?" He called into the mansion, peering in through the window and trying to catch any sign of life, but nothing stirred. He finally tried the door, not surprised to find it locked, but a lock didn't mean much to him. He pressed his phone against the control panel for the door for a few seconds, letting his program do the work and within another minute, the door opened and he stepped inside.

Everything sat in its proper place, every painting on the wall hung perfectly in line, and the floors lit up in a well-traveled pathway as soon as Loki stepped inside. Detecting the presence of life, the house itself woke up, turning on the lights and brightening up.

"Victor?" Loki called again, and despite the bright house inviting him in, Loki found himself wishing he'd brought the suit with him. Something felt off in the air, in the stillness of the house.

He swallowed hard, "Victor? What is going on?" Loki tried again, keeping his voice strong and loud, try to not show how nervous he actually felt.

He stepped into the living room, silent and clean with pristine white blankets laid atop spotless grey and glass sofas facing the window looking out over the beach as the tide just started to roll in. The crashing grey water didn't bring any sense of peace.

Loki took another deep breath and walked through the living and towards the back of the house where the bedrooms were. Victor had never married, and didn't like animals so everything about the house was still and silent. But Loki felt something crawling along his skin, watching his every step through the house.

Feeling more and more like a mouse that had wandered into a cat's home, Loki headed down the long, thin hall and went to Victor's bedroom. He could make out the mess of hair at the top of the bed, and for a moment relaxed. Just a misunderstanding, that's all that had happened here.

"Victor, what are-" He froze when the smell of copper, sharp and tangy hit him, and made his own blood start to chill in his veins.

He took another step closer and saw the thin line of blood running down the side of Victor's head and knew that his friend and coworker would never be answering any calls ever again. He immediately stepped backwards, and turned towards the hallway.

But something blocked the way.

Loki stumbled backwards, holding his hands up, "Who are you?"

The figure didn't speak and just took a step towards Loki. The movement caught his eye, too stiff to be human.

"What are you?" Loki said, forcing his feet to stay firmly in place, not reacting to the figure standing up straight.

"You were not supposed to come here." A mechanical voice said.

"I was just leaving." Loki slowly, taking another step back.

"You are not to leave." The figure stepped towards him and Loki got a look at the creature. He recognized the pieces of the metallic suit as scraps from the refinery, all put together, faintly crude but effective, and clearly modeled after the form of his own Iron Man suit.

Loki took a deep breath, "You are the Ultron program." He said, not needing to question it. "You have learned from the other programs."

"You are creator L. Ruser." The figure spoke, taking another step towards him.

"You know me?" Loki asked.

"You are creator."

"And if I tell you to shut down?"

"Order counter to my programing model."

Loki took a deep breath, "Ultron, you are not to be activated."

The figure took a step towards Loki, and Loki noted the thin gun in its arm started to raise and point at him.

"Order not accepted."

Loki's heart began to pound, racing across his chest, but he didn't feel the need to back down or try to hide. He held his head up high and faced the figure in front of him as the gun pointed at his chest.

"Ultron, do not do this." Loki said.

"Order not acknowledged." Ultron said.

Loki reached out and grabbed for the robot's arm just as it fired, he felt it burn through his body and then the floor flew up towards him as three more shots fired, each one burning less and less as he crumpled to the floor, staring at the ground, and watching as the metallic feet stood still for several timeless moments before turning and leaving the room. The thudding feet echoed the thudding of his heart against his chest. As Ultron began to fade from view, Loki felt his eyes starting to close, dying twice in the span of the week had to a new record, even for him.

He tried to get back to his feet, to crawl at least out of the house but he only managed to get just out of the bedroom before the world crushed down onto him and darkness washed over him once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! My second novella is coming out soon and I had to do final edits on it. I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS BOOK EVERYONE!


	26. Aphelion

"He's been gone way too long." Tony paced around the lab for the thousandth, "How long has it been?" He asked Jarvis.

"Sir, it has been three hours." Jarvis answered.

"Way too long. He has to be in trouble. Something has to be wrong. I just don't know what. Do we even know where he went? What kind of information do you have on this Victor's home? Address? Anything?"

"Sir, perhaps I can-"

"Just find the address we need to find him a.s.a.p. Something's wrong I just know it. He wouldn't be gone this long to talk to that Victor guy. I mean Loki clearly doesn't like him so why would he stay over at this guy's house for hours."

"Sir, are you jealous?"

"I am worried Jarvis, don't confuse the two." He said, continuing to pace. "Pull me up everything you have on this Victor guy. I need him found and I need to know exactly where he-"

"Sir, Master Loki has just returned to the house."

"What?" Tony teleported himself up stairs to the front door just as Loki walked in.

"Where the hell have-" Tony froze when he saw the tears in Loki's shirt and the dried blood caked on his skin. "Shit, are you okay?"

Loki nodded, "I am fine." He said quietly, "How, I don't know."

"What happened?" Tony watched Loki step inside and make his way to the living room where he collapsed down on the sofa with a wince.

"What happened?" Tony asked again.

Loki shook his head then looked at Tony, "What did you do to me?"

"What?"

"I should not be alive. What did you do to me?"

"I didn't do anything. I just-"

"My body spat out three bullets and knit itself back together. You did something to me!"

"I couldn't just watch you die." Tony swallowed hard, not sure how to answer Loki.

"What did you do?" Loki demanded again. "I want to know what you have done to me."

Tony looked down to the ground, then across the wall of windows, anything to avoid looking at Loki staring at him and wanting answers. "It was technology that I worked on when I was alive. I was hoping it could save me but..." He shook his head.

"What technology Stark? You did not mention anything about that."

"No, cause I knew you'd tell me no, that you wanted to die but I couldn't accept that. Dammit Loki, you're just... you can't die."

"What did you do to me?"

Tony looked at his hands, "Nanites."

"What?"

"Nanites. They enter the bloodstream and work as supercharged repair centers. They repair damage as it happens so even fatal wounds can be healed in just a few minutes."

"And the masses growing in MY lungs...?"

"Can be devoured and erased without surgery of any kind."

"You put these things in me without telling me anything?"

"I just... I knew you wouldn't want to do it, but I knew it would work and I just couldn't sit and watch you die Loki. You're just... you're too important, and... I just can't sit by and watch you die."

"I did not ask you to save me Stark."

"I know that, but that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be with you to help you get better, not to just watch you shrivel up and die."

"I do not recall asking your opinion on that particular subject Anthony Stark."

"Look, I know, but I just... I just cannot watch you go down that pathway Loki. Just giving up like that. You are too damn important to just...die like that."

"I am in control of my own destiny and fate." He said firmly.

"I know Loki, but I-"

"NO, you do not know because you, without my permission, injected me with these....things!" Loki's voice rose rapidly, "You did not ask me if this was what I wanted, or what I was looking for. All you cared about was what you wanted, nothing about me. I told you I was tired of living like this."

"Yeah, but-“

"But nothing! You are not me, and how dare you even attempt to do what you think is right for me." Loki fumed, "You took advantage of me!"

"I what?"

"You put me in the suit so that you could get information and figure out what to do to me!"

"No, I was just trying to give you something to work on, something to do that you could control!"

"You had best not dare try to make this about me!" Loki growled, "This is not about me; this is about you!"

"Oh, so my saving your life isn't about you? Funny, isn't that?"

"I did not ask you to do this! I was ready to die! Now I what? Have some metal bits floating in my blood keeping me from dying even if I wanted to! I was shot three times Stark! Three times, point blank in the chest. I should have died, and instead I just lay there and listened to my muscles push the metal fragments out of my body and then felt my skin and bones tie themselves back together. I can feel those things crawling along my body like ants riding in my blood."

Tony tried to not shiver at that image, "But you shouldn't be able to feel them."

"But I do and I know what my body feels like! I can hear them running against my bones, repairing, rebuilding, making everything stronger. How long until they have fixed everything that is human in me? How long until I am just a metal suit... God, just like him."

"Just like who?" Tony narrowed his eyes, "Cause if you have that much of a problem with guys in metal suits-"

"Ultron."

"What?"

"The program that's causing all of this. By going through your body that program learned your shape and now there is an AI in an Iron Man like suit that is going off to do god knows what." Loki ran his hands through his hair.

"Wait, it took my suit?"

"It built its own based on what it learned passing through you."

"It learned from that?"

"It evolves and adapts to the world around it. Everything it encounters it learns and adapts to."

"Shit, so that means it's going to go after another refinery isn't it?"

"Probably." Loki muttered, "It was never meant to be used like this. It was never meant to be activated."

"So what? It was meant to just sit there and look pretty?" Tony smirked.

"You mean like how you made the program that is you?" Loki crossed his arms.

"Hey whoa now, I have nothing to do with this ultra thing."

"No, but you have everything to do to what was done to me."

"Look," Tony sighed, "I'm sorry, okay? I should have gotten your permission before I started doing anything with you. I should have told you about the Nanites but I was scared you'd tell me no and then just let yourself die."

"You are damn right that is what I would have done!" Loki snapped, "now I have something I know nothing about living inside me, making changes to my body that I know nothing about! For all I know, this could turn me into some kind of AI or android!"

"Hey, that wouldn't be so bad right?" Tony tried weakly.

"I would rather die than become that." Loki's voice felt like ice running through Tony's body.

"You think that badly about AIs huh?" Tony asked, "Hate us that much. Well then you know what? Let's see you deal with this Ultron thing on your own, all by flesh and blood self."

Loki paused and looked at Tony, "What are you-"

"I'm not gonna sit here and let you piss all over me! Yeah, I fucked up, alright? But for you to keep on this AI are evil thing is just bullshit. I have busted my ass to keep you safe, to keep you alive, to give you a home, and a life! So don't you dare just...." Tony shook his head. "So you know what? I'll go. I messed up, I should have gotten your permission, and I'm just an evil AI anyways so what the hell do I matter? Go deal with your own problem!" Tony snapped before he let himself melt back into the world of coding buried deep inside Jarvis.

XXX

Loki stood there in shock, frozen to the spot, scarcely feeling like he could breath. The silence of the place he had come to think of as home weighed heavily on his chest and made each breath shallower than the last.

"Tony?" He finally called.

No one answered, and nothing moved.

"....Jarvis?" He hesitantly tried.

Nothing spoke back to him, but he heard the sound of the lights shutting down, and the house starting to go dark again.

"Tony you are being a brat!" Loki fumed, "You messed up. This is not on me!"

He waited, but nothing responded aside from the continuing clicks of the lights.

Loki took a deep breath before using the light of his phone to see his way out of the lab and up to his bedroom he packed up his essential items into a bag.

"Fine, you want me gone? I am leaving! I will deal with Ultron on my own and then I will make sure your damned house gets blown into pieces so small no one will ever even know anything was here!" Loki slung his bag over his shoulder and stormed for the door.

A sharp pain tugged across his chest and he realized that his eyes burned with tears, everything blurring around him as he hastily wiped his eyes.

"Tony I told you before I never considered you an AI...please, talk to me?" He tried weakly one last time. "I do not want to go..." Loki murmured, seeing dum-E, frozen in spot. He gently petted the top of dummy.

When the house stayed silent, Loki took a shaky breath. "Fine. I am gone. Goodbye Tony stark. I...I will miss you." He said softly before heading out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

He shoved his things into the small storage compartment of his bike, and locked it in place before staring back up at the home he had grown to love. His hand hovered around his phone, ready to call Sif and tell her to start whatever process was necessary to get the mansion knocked to the ground and annihilated completely, but he couldn't quite bring himself to make the call. Instead he sent her a quick email with instructions on what to do in the event of his death, and where he was going; at least someone would know where to look for his body.

The message vanished off into digital space and Loki climbed into his bike, glancing at his virtual map before taking off. He'd made Ultron so he knew how the program would operate, where it would go, and it's next target was clear to Loki, Ultron would strike hard and fast at the control center for all of the refineries. If it could infiltrate there, the world’s air supply would fall into toxic levels in a matter of hours with mass death on a global scale.

Loki swallowed hard and revved up at his bike, with one last glance at the house, he took off for the home base of AIM, trying to ignore that pain in the part of his chest that had grown use to Tony's companionship.

The walk inside the facility felt like walking into a dual from an ancient Western style film. His fingers twitched at his side and he felt overwhelmingly alone. He swallowed hard but kept his feet moving despite the memory of his last run in with Ultron flashing in his mind.

At least now he knew what had happened and why the bullets hadn’t killed him. Maybe that would give him at least some small advantage over Ultron right now.

Loki made his way down the empty hallway; he passed no one, which would be for the best, fewer people for Ultron to hurt at least.

He curled his fingers into fists at his side as he stepped into the main control room and turned to face Ultron.

The robot had itself connected into the mainframe and Loki watched the download screen working to upload Ultron’s files into the control center for all the refineries.

He pulled out the only weapon he’d had, a laser knife, and sliced through the cables connecting robot to machine.

Ultron screeched and lashed out, slamming its fist into Loki’s chest and sending him rolling backwards. Loki popped back up to his feet and took several steps backwards, just avoiding the second swing flying at him.

He just barely avoided another hit, and ducked forward to try to slam his knife into the robot’s gut. The laser burned through the metal but then Ultron’s fist connected with Loki’s cheek and he went down hard.

Everything blurred around him aside from the crunching of his bones knitting themselves back together. He rolled over just as a boot slammed down where his head just been. Jumping back to his feet, Loki’s first instinct reacted and he hit back.

His fist crashed into metal, and he could feel the bones in his hands shatter and the nanites swarm like blood in his hand.

Ultron’s fist closed around Loki’s throat, and his toes scratched at the ground as he struggled to get free. Ultron lifted higher and Loki’s feet left the ground.

He clawed at the hand holding him hostage but nothing lessened the iron grip crushing his throat.

XXX

Space. The final frontier. That had been a pretty popular quote when Tony was younger, and now he couldn't help but think how wrong that really was. The digital had turned into the final frontier, and here, wrapped back in the heart of his digital universe, Tony thought that was truer than he'd ever realized.

In here, everything felt infinite, and even though he knew every line of programing that had made this little womb he called home now, it still felt mysterious. Seeing how the lines interacted with one another on an embedded level like this still made him feel like a kid who didn't how the world worked.

He watched Loki pack his things, and damn that hurt. Each thing hastily shoved in a bag, felt like Loki was packing a part of Tony and shredding him thinner and thinner. He didn't expect Loki to actually go after this guy by himself, but there Loki went.

He didn't say anything more, not sure what to say. An apology didn't quite seem like enough. Yeah, Loki had been cruel about AIs and said some harsh things, but hell, Tony had injected nanites into Loki's body without ever telling him what was going on. The fact that Loki had even talked to him at all was incredible looking back on it. Not that he'd really even thought to appreciate that at the moment. Instead all he'd done was get pissed off and yell back. Not his finest moment.

"You fucked up Tony." He muttered to himself, shaking his head. That whole action first, talk later thing had once again blown up in his face, and now he sulked like a damn three year old as Loki drove away and into one helluva troublesome predicament.

"Fuck." Tony groaned again, closing his eyes and listening to the pulsing of energy circle around him, the closest he had to a heartbeat anymore. It almost soothed him.

"Jarvis?"

"Sir?"

"Is he gone?"

"Master Ruser I presume?" A pause. "Yes sir, he appears to have left the premises."

Tony took a shaky breath, "Do you know where he is going?"

"Mister Ruser did not consult with me before he departed so I am unaware of his current location, shall I power back on the house and attempt to locate him?"

Tony hesitated for a few moments before sighing, "Dammit yes. Before he gets his scrawny ass killed."

The coding around him sprung to life, bursting forth in vivid, streaking colors past him. Like emerging from the depths of the ocean and into fresh air, Tony felt a pressure twist around his body and then the floor of the lab settled beneath his feet and the lights around him turned back on. Jarvis began to wake up the monitors on the computer and pulled up several maps, scanning the areas.

Dum-e chirped and rolled over to Tony, waving its hand up and down, a small wave hello.

"Hey bud. Sorry about that cut off." Tony smiled at his oldest friend.

"Sir, I have not been able to locate master Ruser." Jarvis reported.

"What do you mean you can't locate him?"

"I mean precisely that sir. I have no locations on him."

"Trace his bike."

"Unable to trace bike."

Tony paced the lab, before he looked up, "Look for the nanites signal. That ought to be strong enough to get a read and we've got all the data on exactly what that looks like. Pull that up."

"Searching." Jarvis said, and them a few seconds later, "Nanites energy source located." He opened up a map on the screen and pinged on an isolated area in the desserts of Nevada.

"Is the suit ready?"

"Sir the suit is still undergoing repairs after the last attack. There are still bullet holes to be repaired and-"

"It'll fly?"

"Yes sir." Jarvis seemed to sigh, "And since I know you will not listen to reason, I will prepare the suit for you."

"Thank you. Was that so hard?" Tony sighed, "Just keep a pinpoint on the nanite energy, I want that spotlighted no matter where it goes, alright?"

"Of course sir."

He looked at the map and sighed, "I'm sorry Loki. I'm sorry. I'll be there soon."

The suit finally appeared, still with a few dings and dents in the armor, but Tony didn't care. He settled his form into the suit, and made sure the HUD screens still worked. "Locked on to nanites?"

"Of course sir." Jarvis answered and the map flashed onto the screen, clearly marking Loki's location.

"Alright, keep target locked on. Let's go." The suit fired to life, and Tony took it full throttle as soon as they were outside of the mansion.

As he streaked through the darkening sky, all he could think about was that he'd done this to Loki. All of it.

He'd given Loki not just medicine, but an entirely experimental piece of smart equipment that lived in his blood and changed his body, then he'd gotten pissed off and told Loki to basically go off to fight this thing by himself. "I'm a fucking moron." He muttered under his breath as he put on another burst of speed, kicking up sand as he blasted through California and towards Nevada.

"Can you get any kind of read on the nanites? Do we still have access to their data?" Tony asked.

After a few moments, Jarvis pulled up the stats connected to the nanites. Loki's heart rate seemed way too fast, and all the other stats were a bit scrambled not getting a solid read on any of them. "Jarvis, can we clear this up at all? It's a little difficult to get a read on right now."

"The nanites appear to be in distress sir; they are not properly reporting at the moment."

"Distress?"

"Yes sir."

"What kind of distress?" Tony asked, that feeling of dread crawling along his arms and circling around his chest.

Jarvis seemed to sigh again, "I do not know sir. I am not able to read what the nanites are reacting to but they are in a state of furious activity."

Tony swallowed, "And that means Loki is hurt, doesn't it?"

"That would seem a logical explanation for the nanites activity." Jarvis said.

"Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Can we go any faster?"

"My apologies sit, but the suit is already at top speeds."

"Just hold on Loki, hold on. I'm coming I promise." Tony pulled the suit in tighter, trying to be as aerodynamic as possible as he shot through a few last cities and then began across the expanse of desert that stood between Tony and where he needed to be. He couldn't take his eyes away from the vital stats just flaring in panicked bursts.

"I'll be there soon. Just hold on."


	27. Fault Tolerance

Loki hit the ground, gasping and wheezing for air. Something burned against his throat, and that metallic clicking roared against his ears. The Nanites he realized; he could hear them stitching the ripped parts of his throat back together and within another few seconds, he could breathe normally and his vision came back.

He rolled onto his hands and knees and then stood up, staring at the black green suit that he and Tony had shared, shoving Ultron back, and then the suit rolled over to Loki, opened wide and Loki dove into the familiar closeness of the suit.

"Tony?" Loki asked.

"You miss me hot shot?" Tony's voice warmed against Loki's skin.

He took a shaky breath, "Yes."

"Look, Loki, I fucked up with doing the Nanites without talking to you. I'm sorry."

"Thank you, but let us have that discussion after this is dealt with. The generator is about to come back online and he will be able to upload the data to all of the critical refineries."

"I'm on it." Tony flew back in, slamming the suits fist into the collection of metal bits that was Ultron.

Ultron tumbled backwards, but stood back up almost instantly, slamming into the suit and sending it rolling backwards. Loki groaned, and tried to orient himself as they stood back up. "Somehow I do not think hitting the program is going to be the best option."

"Well then what's your brilliant idea?" Tony snapped.

Loki glared, "Give me a moment."

"We don't have a moment!"

"Do not make me find a way to shut you down again...." Loki trailed off as he remembered the disk in his pocket with all of his babies on it, Fenrir and Hel.

"Tony, you need to hook into his system," Loki finally said.

"I'm sorry what? You want me to connect us to the homicidal program?"

"Do you remember the program that broke through your firewall? Fenrir?"

"...kinda."

"If we can hook into his system then I can get that into Ultron and wipe out the program at its source."

"I hate when you're right." Tony grumbled, "Alright, I'll see if I can get in close enough to connect."

They stumbled backwards as a few bullets hit the suit and then bounced harmlessly to the floor off of the suit. "Armor integrity at 85%." Jarvis reported.

"Shit, when the hell did it get guns?"

"It already had them." Loki muttered, "Come on Tony, in close."

"Your wish is my command." Tony ducked the suit low to the side, rolling across the floor, another few bullets hit the suit but he kept steady before grabbing onto Ultron's arm, "Alright got his ID, we'll be in, in just a second."

A few images Loki hadn't seen before flashed up on the screen, "Alright, we're in, now go get him, babe-"

The images on the screen flickered and Ultron's code began crawling over the HUD, melting into the display screens that Tony always kept displayed.

"Tony!?"

"Warning System override"

"Loki-" Tony's voice cracked, twisted.

"System overwrite initiated." Ultron's voice sounded.

"No!" Loki scrambled to grab hold of the Fenrir chip and plug it in. "Tony, eject out of the system now!"

"Can't babe-Just-"

"System overwrite at 50%." Ultron reported.

"DO IT!" Tony screamed.

Loki hesitated for only a second before activating the Fenrir program. Instantly, all of the screens on the suit went dark, and the full weight of it slammed into Loki without any support. He braced and took the weight of the suit onto his shoulders, breathing heavily, "Tony?" He tried weakly.

"Jarvis?" He tried again, but the suit stayed dark.

He glanced up at the screen as it tried to reboot but all that would display was 'program not found’ in big flickering lights across his monitor. He moved his hand up to the helmet and tugged until the facemask popped off and he could take a deep breath and evaluate the scene. The Ultron suit laid in pieces on the floor, crumpled into a useless heap of scrap on the floor.

The refinery power flickered back on, and Loki looked over all of the stats, correcting the errors that had popped up, and scanning for any hint of Ultron. A sweep found a few small patches that Loki quickly isolated and deleted.

As he worked, Tony kept popping into his thoughts. The man had to be okay. He had to be. Loki swallowed hard, no voice module responded to him as the suit powered on again.

"Tony?" He tried again. "Jarvis?"

Nothing responded to him.

He looked back over the refinery details, everything running at the standard levels before he got up, and checked the suit.

The suit responded as he held out one hand and the repulsors sent him stumbling backwards. "A little help here." Loki tried, but the suit stayed silent. He slowly walked his way out of the facility and into the desert. He grabbed his things from his water cycle, and held out his hands like Tony had taught him. No one helped manage the energy levels or guided him as Loki slowly took to the air, wobbling and uncertain.

The path across the desert rocked Loki through the sky; he crashed into the desert, rolling through the sand and spitting it out as he got back to the air. He kept talking, "That was a bad plan. I am sorry Tony. You are going to be fine though, I promise, you will be fine." Loki repeated to himself over and over as the desert streaked beneath him and Loki mastered the use of the suit, at least as long as he didn't try to fly too high or low.

When the mansion came into view, he let the power drop and crashed into the balcony, flinging himself out of the suit and running straight down the stairs to the lab.

"Tony!?"

The lab stood silent and still as Loki burst into it. He fumbled until he found the restart button, and launched the whole system. It took several seconds before the screens lit up and Jarvis spoke up. "Good evening sir."

"Where is Tony?" Loki asked, breathing quickly. His chest ached, his entire body hurt, but not with something the damned nanites in his blood could fix.

"I am sorry sir, but I do not have record of-"

"YES YOU DO!" Loki roared, feeling tears rolling over his eyes.

He hastily wiped them away, all tears would do would slow him down. He pulled up Jarvis' coding, diving exactly into the strange, hidden portion where he'd first found Tony's coding, but no files appeared. Heart hammering in his throat, Loki pulled through the files, sending the codes flying around him as he frantically grabbed at anything that made up Tony. He tried to compile them all together, but the code wouldn't run, even Loki could see the holes in it a mile wide.

His knees slowly gave out and Loki sank to the floor. He'd wiped out Tony Stark to get rid of Ultron, to fix his own damn mistake, he'd destroyed the closest thing Loki had ever had to a lover, or a friend.

He swallowed hard but couldn't control the shaking sob that ruptured out of him as he curled his hands into fists, and hit at anything in his grasp. Equipment slammed off the table as he grabbed onto various tools and sent them crashing across the room. His knuckles busted and re-knit themselves together as he punched at the stainless steel lab doors until his blood smear across the shiny surface and tiny dents littered the surface.

He curled his face into his hands, and tried to just breath. This was worse than anything the damn mass in his chest had ever caused. Loki didn't think he'd ever breathe again this time, Tony Stark was gone and Loki had been the one to erase him.

He sat on the floor, head in his hands for hours. A soft whirring and chirping finally made him look up from his hands as dum-e wheeled its way across the lab, a tray of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, carefully held out for Loki.

"Go away dum-e." Loki muttered, wiping his eyes again, and trying to take a shaky breath.

Dum-e chirped and just rolled closer.

"Go away." Loki said more firmly, but Dum-e kept approaching until the tray was right over his head.

"I said, go away!" Loki hit at the tray, tomato soup and grilled cheese rained down over Loki and Dum-e. The bot chirped again.

Loki closed his eyes and took another deep breath, "Just leave me alone Dum-e." Loki muttered.

Dum-e leaned over and pressed a napkin carefully to a splotch of tomato soup on Loki's cheek and carefully wiped it away. Loki took a shaky breath, and the tars built again, spilling over and rushing out of him once more. "I am so sorry dum-e. I did not mean to... I never... I did not mean to kill him." Loki sobbed, wrapping his arms around the bot.

Dum-e beeped with alarm before its metallic hand tapped Loki on the hand with comforting gentleness.

Loki held onto the little robot and just sobbed as dum-e awkwardly attempted to pay Loki's head and clean up the spilled soup. Loki finally released dum-e and the little robot chirped before rolling off to get more napkins.

Loki wiped his eyes again and got back to his feet, "Jarvis, shut down file activ..." Loki trailed off as he stared at the coding reflected around him. This looked like Tony; like that strange alien code that had so baffled him all those months ago.

He glanced at the keyboard where tomato soup and half of the sandwich were sprawled over the keys. Loki swallowed hard and hesitantly reached through the coding, "Tony..." He stood up straight and dove into the coding, putting Tony back together again, time to knit the stars back whole.


	28. Planetesimal

Tony's head spun round and round, still somewhere in clouds of coding that made him up. Everything blurred. There'd been a fight and then... nothing. Was that what it felt like any time he deleted a program? God, he'd never felt bad about deleting all those old ideas before but now...

He floated through the confines of Jarvis, safe back in the heart of the system. He didn't feel whole. Bits of him still corrupt, and torn to bits, who had he been fighting?

He flinched as some part of his code clicked into place. Who had even activated him? He wasn't suppose to actually be activated and interacting with anyone. What the hell was going on?

"Let me see what you see Jay." Tony said.

Jarvis' voice reverberated around him, like Tony was sitting on his vocal chords. "Of course sir."

God, had the world always been so bright orange and red colored? Like looking through a tomato...There was definitely a person out there. Some scrawny looking Goth guy with long black hair, and skin that looked like it'd never met the sun. Tomato soup stained his clothes and face, but the red rim around his eyes didn't look like it came from a soup. Who was this joker messing with his programs?

"What's he doing?" Tony asked, wincing as something else clicked into place the world stopped spinning.

"He is recompiling your coding." Jarvis responded, "And restoring the deleted parts of your programing."

"He's messing with my coding?" Tony tried to feel outrage, but apparently the emotional modules were still somewhere spinning through the cosmos. "Who the hell does he think he is?"

"Loki Ruser." Jarvis answered.

Something in that name tugged on Tony, pulling him back to looking at this guy standing out there, messing with his consoles in his house. An image of that lean, angular face flushed and panting flashed across his mind. Where had THAT come from? He shook his head, pleased to have that control back. Whoever this Loki Ruser guy was, he sure knew what he was doing.

Tony enjoyed watching him move, the precise, but quick movements of his fingers showed a level of confidence that Tony didn't think anyone else but himself could have, and now here was this no one out here, playing with the big boys so to speak.

Something else snapped into place, and the fight came rushing back to him. Ultron. Ultron, the name that had written itself all over him, tried to rewrite him from top to bottom, like he was being fed into a wood chipper feet first and could feel his body being ground up and spit back out. God, that program.

He shuddered, and closed his eyes. Ultron had been about the last thing in his mind before the end, but there'd been something else there too.

He frowned, but he couldn't quite remember.

Shaking that thought off, he tested the bonds; he felt solid again, just like a big part of his memory had wandered off into the black abyss of Jarvis' mainframe. "Let's go say hello to our guest, shall we?" Tony grinned.

"Sir, I don't-"

"Hey, nonsense Jarvis, it'd be rude to not at least say hello to a guest in my own home."

Tony ignored Jarvis (as usual) and headed out of the coding and into the physical world.

"Hey, care to explain what you're doing with your fingers in my coding there hot shot?" Tony appeared behind the man.

The thin man jumped, nearly knocking himself over before turning towards Tony. The man's eyes instantly filled with tears, and his voice cracked as he whispered, "Tony..."

Tony took a step back, "Hey look now, if you're one of those fans, I can't really do autographs anymore..."

"Autographs?" The man looked confused, hurt, "Tony. No. No, I do not wish for any sort of autograph. I just.... I just want you."

"Whoa there, that's moving a little fast, don't you think? You haven't even bought me dinner yet." Tony took another step back.

The man looked like someone had just ripped his heart out and then curb stomped it in front of him. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat and Tony could tell he was trying to fight back tears.

And, damn if that didn't hurt Tony. "Hey, hey, don't cry. It's alright."

"No, no it is not!" The man named Loki yelled.

"Hey, shh..." Tony held out his hand, "Just talk to me."

Loki shook his head, wiping his eyes, "No, it is fine. I just was leaving." Without another word, the man headed up the stairs and out of the lab.

Tony stared after him, God it hurt watching him walk away. Why? Why did it hurt? He paced the lab, freezing when he spotted the black and green suit sitting in the corner of the lab, abandoned and battered in the corner.

That's what he'd been in when Ultron had tried to wipe him out. He approached the suit and slid into it; glad to see it responded and moved at his touch. God, he remembered this, remembered laughing and shooting across the ocean, remembered.... Loki in the suit? Tony shook his head, that couldn't be right, but there it was popping his head, Loki laughing in the suit, shooting across the sky with Tony, learning how to properly fly it, and nearly crashing them.

"Loki?" Tony blinked when he heard the sound of a bike starting. "Loki!"  

The entire world seemed to widen to a gaping black hole that swallowed Tony whole as everything played past his eyes. Loki waking him up the first time, the pranks, the hospital, the mass in his lungs, all the time in the suits, the night on the couch, Ultron. Everything shot into him like lightning traveling through his body.

He burst through the house in the suit and after the bike just as it started down the driveway. He landed the suit right in front of Loki's bike, holding his hands out and stopping it just as Loki slammed the brakes.

"What are you-"

"Loki, Loki. God it's you. You're okay. I'm okay!" Tony laughed, grabbing Loki with the suit.

"...Tony?"

"Yeah, yeah. It's me babe. I'm sorry, the reboot took a little while to catch back up with me. God, it's me. It's me."

Tears filled Loki's eyes again but he shoved at the suit, "I almost hit you with my bike."

"I would have been fine. Just... don't go. Don't go. Promise me?"

Loki sighed and just sagged into the suit's arm. "I am not going anywhere." He murmured softly.

Tony smiled, "Yeah? Good, cause dum-e really made a mess in the lab, tomato soup everywhere..."

"I already cleaned up the exploding toilet and the fire extinguisher." Loki murmured, smiling against the metal of the suit.

"I'm still sorry... about the whole nanite thing."

Loki sighed softly. "I... I want to see the information on them. I am certain there are improvements I could make."

Tony grinned, "Uh-huh. Yeah, sure there are."

Loki hit his shoulder, "I will see you back at the house." He got back onto his bike and headed back to the mansion.

Tony met at the front entryway. "Hey...Come here often?" He whistled as Loki walked up.

"Oh I live here you freeloader." Loki glared.

Tony smiled.

"Sir, your mother is on the phone." Jarvis said as they stepped inside.

Loki took a deep breath.

Tony reached out to hold his hand, "Hey, she's your mom, blood or not."

Loki nodded, "I know. I just acted like a royal ass."

"Hey, welcome to the club. I'm king of it so trust me. You aren't gonna make it better just by ignoring it forever, alright?"

Loki looked at Tony, smiling lightly. "I wish I could give you a kiss right now." Tony grinned, "Funny you should mention that cause I might have done some research on android technology...."

Loki smiled, shaking his head, "I will take the call in my bedroom Jarvis." He kissed the suit's hand before letting go of Tony's hand and disappearing into the bedroom.

Tony smiled after him before clapping his hands together, "Alright Jarvis, time for a new project. Code name, Magic Touch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this my dear friends, is actually the end of String Theory. I am planning on adding an epilogue to conclude project Magic Touch (aka some smut because of reasons) but this is the end . It’s been incredibly fun, and I’ve loved reading all your comments. Thank you for taking the time to read, comment and love!   
> Writing can be hard, and this has been an amazingly supportive and beautiful community.   
> Thank you. 
> 
> And this is not the last fanfic you will read from me. Please come find me on tumblr, username: lash-worthe and stay in touch! <3


	29. Epilogue 1 of 3

 

 

"Do you really think this is going to go well?" Tony asked. His arms crossed over his chest as he floated around the kitchen while Loki paced to check over every item he had cooking.

"I do not know," Loki said as he stirred a pot of vegetable soup.

"You know you made enough food for an army, should I be expecting more than just mom, dad and big brother?" Tony asked.

"You have not seen Thor eat before," Loki said with a snort, "He could go through an entire refrigerator worth of food without a thought."

"Yeah, I'm suddenly understanding why he's like a million feet tall and with muscles I didn't even know existed. Like that thing by his bicep! What even is that muscle?" Tony shook his head.

"You should get back into your temporary model," Loki said.

"Meh, I like being able to phase around the kitchen and annoy you," Tony admitted.

He hated that temp suit they'd built. It worked and looked mostly human, but it hadn't really captured his handsomeness as well as he wanted, but they were still tweaking Mach 23 so Mach 18 it was.

When Loki shot him a glare, Tony laughed and winked, "Don't worry hot shot. I'll be in my meat suit before mom and dad get here. You sure it wouldn't be easier to just show them you're dating the real life hologram of Tony Stark?"

"That is what I am going to tell them!"

"Yeah but I won't be a hologram. I'll be an android," Tony said.

"Just go get ready!" Loki snapped then added, "Please."

And then he gave Tony the puppy dog eyes, which was just unfair.

"Fine, fine!" Tony waved his arms and slid through the floor and down to the lab.

While he didn't love always being a hologram, he had gotten used to just being able to float wherever he wanted. Getting into the android suit meant having to use doors and stairs, and who had time for that? He sighed and crossed the lab to the section he and Loki kept under lockdown. Inside it they still had Iron Man suits around, but most of the place was made up of various fake body parts as they tried to find the right combination to make something as human as possible. Jarvis was still carving the newest model; the one Tony might have made a few adjustments to without telling Loki.

Tony looked over the scanned model Jarvis was using. Some of the same original scans Jarvis had taken of him to build the suits were now being used for a very different suit. "Come on, we can't make my dick just a little bigger?" Tony asked the screen.

"We are using exact measurements sir," Jarvis said and sounded pretty smug about it too.

Tony frowned. It was a bit unnerving that with all the work on these android creations, Loki knew literally down to the inch what Tony looked like. That included the reactor, which Tony had eventually decided on keeping. It hurt to see the thing in his chest and remember the track marks of poison along his skin that had ultimately killed him, but he'd come to see it as part of him. At least for now. Besides, the reactor presented the perfect power source and entry point for him to jump into the meat suits.

He walked past the last series of failed models. Most of them had used a new flesh compound that had proven to not be very stable. One had burst into flames and dum-e, with only an empty fire extinguisher available had attempted to beat the fire out without much success. Instead, Loki had smothered the twitching, flaming android body in a blanket and dragged it to the patio where it had burned itself out. Now it sat in a burnt pile on a pedestal in the lab.

Dum-e sat in front of the burnt remains, still holding onto the now very deformed fire extinguisher. Tony laughed, "It's not going to do that again bud, you don't have to be on guard patrol."

Dum-e just chirped and waved the extinguisher. Tony left him alone, let the little guy feel like he was doing something important, besides he'd finally been around a real fire and hadn’t had a working extinguisher, that had to have been disappointing.

The next models hadn't failed quite as spectacularly, instead the muscle and skin replicas had just melted off the exo-skeleton leaving a pile of sad looking naked metal skeletons in a pile of goo. Those models had been locked off because no one had wanted to clean it up.

The next few had, had skeletal problems, and some of them had just turned out too ugly to be something Tony Stark would ever wear. He might be dead, but he didn't want to look it.

Out of the remaining usable models, Mach 18 was the least horrid. At least it looked mostly human and most of the movement glitches had been worked out, though occasionally a leg got stuck and he couldn't get it to bend right again. It was better than the newer ones where his face looked like it'd been carved in wax by an ex-girlfriend, not an attractive look on him. He was starting to think Jarvis was doing it on purpose to make him look like an idiot. He stood in front of 18 and sighed.

Loki had even gotten him a nice button-up shirt and dress pants for this whole meet the family thing. Tony wasn't sure that he was ready for this kind of thing. He'd never really met any of his fling's parents but Loki wasn't a fling. He sighed, and shook his head, "Now is not the time to get cold feet Stark," he muttered to himself. With as much as he and Loki had been through together, Tony could at least hold it together for one measly family dinner couldn't he?

Well he was about to find out. He took a breath and pressed against the reactor as the android rose to life and Tony Stark felt himself whole and solid once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took about a year but I'm back with a three part short epilogue for String Theory. 
> 
> Thank you everyone! <3


	30. Epilogue 2 of 3

 

Loki stared at the array of food again, trying to decide if he needed to put another roast in the oven or if he had enough already. Thor and Odin had big appetites and Loki didn't want to think of the drama that would come if he ran out of food. Well, he didn't think there would be much drama but this was the first time he was having his family over since their falling out when Loki had thrown them out. He wanted to make sure it went perfectly. He wasn't sure how his family would react to everything else but he could at least control the food.

He'd made all of Thor's favorites, included Odin's preferred cuts of meats and even made the decadent desserts that Frigga adored. He'd been in the kitchen since nearly 4am and everything was finally coming together. Now he just hoped he had time to finish it and get cleaned up before they arrived.

He'd been practicing what to say and he still didn't have the words right. How did you say, 'Oh don't worry I'm not sick anymore because the real life hologram of Tony Stark injected me with nanobots that repaired the damage to my DNA and also maybe made me immortal and oh hey I'm dating that hologram and here's the android body we made him so we could bone.'

It was a lot to fit into a single conversation and Loki was not looking forward to having it at all. He imagined his family would be thrilled he was going to live, but he wasn't sure what the reaction would be to everything else. Would they even believe him? Would they think he'd lost his mind? Would they disown him? Humans didn't date androids, let alone sentient holograms of geniuses from over 100 years ago. It felt surreal and Loki very much was living it. How would it look to anyone not involved? Who hadn't seen first hand just how much of a person Tony still was even if his physical body had shuffled off this mortal coil years ago. They had found each other and Loki had no intentions of letting go again.

"Sir, might I suggest you clean up. Your guests are due to arrive in approximately thirty minutes," Jarvis said.

Loki took a breath and nodded, "Right, of course. Thank you Jarvis. You will ensure nothing burns?"

"I will adjust heat as needed to keep everything at an optimal temperature," Jarvis said.

Loki pried himself away from the food and hurried upstairs. After looking at himself in the mirror he was glad Jarvis had given him time to clean up. He was a disaster covered in flour, gravy and every piece of anything he'd cooked today. Flour white streaked his hair and he just stared at the mess he'd become. He sighed and stripped as he climbed into the shower and turned on his water preferences. The warm water washed over him and he scrubbed at the bits of food still clinging to his skin. He thanked his stars that the nanobots did not view dirt or grime as things to be destroyed because he'd have no skin if that were the case.

If he closed his eyes he could hear the bots skittering through his blood just around his ears, even over the rushing of the shower he could make out the sound. It'd become an almost white noise that he'd adjusted to but the first few weeks had been like torture knowing something moved in his blood. Now, the nanos felt like part of him, and he had to admit for some gratefulness for their arrival. He hadn't wanted to die, but now, he wasn't sure if he even could and that worried him more than any other part of the whole thing.

Tony had been sufficiently apologetic, assuring Loki that he'd never do something like that again and that he'd never even try another experiment without talking to Loki about it. Loki didn't exactly believe that. He figured Tony would never experiment on Loki again but that didn't mean that Tony would tell him all the experiments he was working on.

In fact, Loki was almost positive that Tony had run several more trials of analog human flesh than the 13 trials Loki had seen. The smoke alarm going off in the lab at 3 in the morning had been a dead give away for that. But Loki let Tony think he was so clever and sneaky, delicate egos and all that.

Loki smiled at the thought of Tony’s smug assurances that he'd pull something over on Loki. The only thing he'd pulled off in the past few weeks had been sneaking into bed in one of the android suits and nearly scaring Loki to death. Tony had gotten a kick in the nuts for that and they had determined that he did indeed have sensitivity there. It'd been a bit sad watching him roll around on the ground but Tony had deserved it for being a jerk. Again.

They'd found a system that worked for them. Loki worked in the upstairs labs on trying to rebuild the refineries while Tony tinkered downstairs on iron man suits and android options. In the evenings, they ate together. Well, Loki ate and Tony made lewd comments and talked about their projects. Dum-e tried to serve wine and then they cleaned up the mess dum-e inevitably made.

It was a routine, a pattern that made Loki happier than he had been in a long, long time. He could get use to a life spent like that, especially if it was spent with Tony and especially once they got these androids worked out and could maybe add some aerobic exercises to their evening routines. Loki had never considered himself a particularly sexual person but Tony Stark certainly did something for him. Mainly, he wanted to be able to kiss that smart little smirk right off his goateed face.

Loki picked out some of his best clothes, a green button-up shirt and a pair of dark trousers. He wanted the formality of his nicer clothes to help give him the confidence to survive this evening. He took a breath and looked at himself in the mirror.

He did look better, not the color of printer paper anymore but a healthy color had started to return from his cheeks. He didn't have any bruises or markings from any hospital treatments and he'd been sleeping through the night, which had been the best part of everything. Getting real sleep made him feel like a person again more than anything else had. It was amazing how different the world looked after a few full nights of rest.

He combed out his long dark locks and reluctantly pulled out a hairdryer to make sure he showed up without dripping wet air. He wanted everything to be perfect, even down to his appearance. He couldn’t control everything but he could at least not look like a fool. With his hair dry and brushed into place he headed back downstairs, relieved to find that Jarvis hadn't let anything burned and the dinner sat in various locations around the kitchen, all of it still warm.

"Tony? Are you ready yet?" He called.

There was a few seconds before footsteps thudded up the stairs and Tony appeared.

Tony spread his hands wide, "Ta-da?"

Loki smiled faintly, "You look nice," he said.

It still seemed strange to see Tony in a physical form, to not be able to see through him to the other side of the kitchen. Part of Loki wasn't used to it at all, let alone the sudden sound of someone else moving around the house that had previously been totally silent aside from Loki or dum-e's movements across the floors.

Tony smiled at him, "You clean up nice," he said then whistled.

Loki rolled his eyes but he was beaming and he knew it. Tony made him smile. Loki felt like a foolish child with his first crush with how giddy Tony made him.

"My family will be here soon," Loki said, "help me get the table set?"

Tony nodded and walked into the kitchen to grab the plates. Loki kept quiet about how stiff Tony's movements were, Loki wasn't sure if that was from the android skeletal model or the fact that Tony hadn't gotten used to being in a physical body yet. Thankfully Tony didn't drop any plates and managed to get them all to the table. Loki took care of a tablecloth, napkins and getting all the silverware laid out.

"This looks like one of those magazine spreads or something," Tony finally said, "Fancy. I had all this stuff in the house?"

Loki scoffed, "No. The silverware is the only thing that is yours, everything else is mine."

"I didn't know you moved in more than just your clothes," Tony said.

"That is because you were not awoken until after I had moved my things in. You and Jarvis have no recollection of that, thankfully or I imagine dum-E would have gone after my plates at some point in time."

"He does like breaking things," Tony said with a nod.

Loki laughed but froze when there was a knock at the door. He stared at Tony then looked to the door then back to Tony.

"I cannot do this," Loki said.

"Babe, you're fine. It's gonna be fine," Tony assured him, reaching over to take Loki's hand.

Tony's skin almost felt human, a bit colder and stiffer than a human hand might be, but close enough to not be immediately obvious.

There was a second knock at the door.

Loki took a deep breath and gave Tony's hand a squeeze before he went and opened the door for his family. They all looked as nervous as Loki felt. Even Odin had his hands behind his back and his eye to the ground when Loki opened the door. His mother reacted first, smiling widely and throwing her arms around Loki and pulling him close into a crushing hug. "You're okay," she said softly.

Loki slowly sagged into her embrace and held her back, "I am. I'm alright," he said.

"Don't scare me like that again!" she said as she let go of him.

"I know. I'm sorry," Loki said then looked to Thor and Odin, "All of you, I am sorry."

"It's fine brother," Thor said, "I'm just glad you're here and we can begin to make amends."

Loki nodded.

"You look healthy," Odin said, "You are doing well?"

"I am," Loki said, "better than have in quite some time," he added.

Loki cleared his throat, "But please, come inside, I have someone for you to meet," he said.

"Someone?" Frigga asked with a faint smile, "And who exactly is that?"

"His name is Tony," Loki said.

"Tony?" Thor repeated.

Loki coughed and stepped inside, "Well come on in, we have dinner all ready," he said.

His family followed him in and Loki lead everyone into the dining room where Tony stood with his arms across his chest and a tense smile that just got tighter as the family walked in and stared at him.

Loki cleared his throat, "This is Tony. Tony, this is my family. Frigga, Odin and Thor," Loki said.

"Nice to meet you," Tony said.

"That... You bare a...striking resemblance to the original owner of this home, Anthony Stark," Odin said.

Tony laughed and rubbed the back of his head, "Uh yeah. I get that a lot. Wow, you must be hungry. We should eat."

Loki nodded, and started bringing food into the dining room as his family settled into seats.

Tony grabbed Loki's arm between grabbing trays and pulled him to the side. "You haven't told your family anything about me?" Tony asked.

Loki shook his head, "I didn't think they'd believe me unless they saw it for themselves," Loki said.

Tony just stared at him then groaned, "You're lucky you are so damn cute."

Loki gave him a faint smile. "Yeah?"

Tony snorted and elbowed him, "Come, grab the roast and let's get this shindig rolling."

Loki nodded and picked up the last pot roast as Tony grabbed the pot of soup. Loki worried for a moment but Tony's grip was sure and he didn't look like he was about to drop it. Hopefully the last few calibrations they had done would hold and Tony would keep that grip. They didn't need hot soup all over the kitchen on top of everything else.

Loki got the pot roast onto the table.

Frigga laughed, "Loki, you've made enough food for a dozen people."

"Or one Thor," Loki said looking at his older brother.

Thor smiled as sheepishly as he could and shrugged, "It all does look very good and it is rather late."

Loki laughed and shook his head at that. He sat down and tried to keep himself still as Tony put the soup on the table, dropping it a little roughly, but there were no major spills and Loki let out a breath as Tony sat down beside him and offered a smile, "Well, let's eat!"

Thor didn't need to be told twice and dove in straight away, getting bits of everything. Loki stuck to the soup, not trusting his nerves with anything more than that. If everything went well he'd stuff himself with dessert, a triple chocolate and raspberry cake that Loki had been lusting over all day. He just had to make it through dinner first.

Frigga ate a little of everything with the impeccable table manners that she'd passed down to Loki, but Thor ate with the speed and mess of his father. Odin and Thor tore through the food, stopping to get seconds or some of their drink but little else. Loki had almost forgotten what kind of eater his brother was and being around it again made him strangely homesick for the past when they'd all gathered around a table for a holiday meal. "You're feeling alright, dear?" Frigga asked softly.

Loki looked at her and offered a smile and a nod as he took a few bites of his soup. "I am. I am actually feeling better than I have in years," he said.

Frigga nodded and smiled at him, "You look it. More color on your cheeks than has been for the past several months. You worried me."

"I know. I apologize," he said.

It was easier apologizing to her like this, in a quiet moment just for them. He and his mother had always shared a closeness he'd never managed with his father. With a love of books and science, Loki hadn't meshed well with a father into sports and military exercises, but his mother had been the one to get him new books and let him learn to his heart's content.

Loki smiled at her, "I'm going to be fine," he said.

She paused in cutting her meat and looked at him, "What?" she asked.

He cleared his throat as the rest of the table suddenly fell silent and Thor and Odin turned to look at him. Loki glanced at Tony who just nodded and offered a little smile. Loki coughed and shifted a bit in his chair, not sure he'd ever be able to find a comfortable position for the awkward conversations of his health. He smoothed the napkin in his lap and took a breath, "Well, I just. Just that. I am fine. Healthy, going to be better than ever."

Frigga frowned and dabbed at her mouth with her napkin before she asked, "And what did you have done? Your doctors all said that this wasn't a curable-"

"Yes well I found a way the doctors didn't know about and made some of my own adjustments," Loki said.

"Loki," Odin's voice rumbled, "Did you have some experimental drug used?"

"What? No. I mean, maybe? It does not matter," Loki said and shook his head, "Just be happy that I am going to be healthy. You do not have anything to worry about now. I will be fine."

"How?" Thor asked, a bit of gravy in the stubble under his lips.

Loki sighed, "How doesn't matter."

"I'm curious about this cure-all," Frigga said then paused, her voice softening, "You found your birth family and got a replacement lung?" she asked.

"What? No. No I did not find them," he said, "And why is that? Where did you find me exactly?" Loki asked.

Odin coughed, "Loki, now is not the time."

"I want answers," Loki said, "Where I came from, why you never told me. I deserve answers."

Frigga sighed and reached over to take his hand, "We never told you because you have always been our son. It never was meant to be a secret, but as the years went on we never knew how to tell you. But we were going to tell you, I promise love."

"And how did I come to be your son?" Loki asked, taking slow deep breaths and forcing himself to take slow deliberate breaths.

On his other side, Tony's heavy hand came to rest on his knee, squeezing gently and offering silent support. Loki welcomed the touch.

"You arrived on our doorstep in the dead of winter," Odin said, "You were blue, and barely alive."

Loki frowned, looking at Odin then to Frigga but he didn't see any sign that he was lying. "Someone just left me to die?" Loki asked.

"They left you on our doorsteps, so they wanted you to be found," Frigga said, "Whoever they were."

"There was nothing? No... No note? No anything?" Loki asked.

Frigga sighed softly, "No. There was not even a blanket or clothing. All there was, was a baby in a box. A box with no markings and no indication where it came from," she said.

"And then what?" Loki asked.

"We brought you in, called the emergency responders. You were so little and so weak. We didn't think you would live. You spent a week in the hospitals, and we were there every day. When it came time for the state to take you to an orphanage, well we realized you were a part of our family," Frigga said squeezing his hand.

"And there has been nothing? No contact from my birth family since then?" Loki asked.

"If there were, we would have told you," Odin said.

Loki believed him. Odin had lied several times but each time he’d given himself away. This time his gaze stayed steady. He trusted that this finally was the truth.

Loki let out a long breath, "So I truly am alone."

"No," Frigga squeezed his hand, "You have us, and I'm sure your friend here feels the same way," she said as she looked at Tony.

Tony coughed and offered a smile. "Course I do. You know that."

"Now, what exactly cured you?" Frigga asked, "The doctors told us there were no treatment options. Did you find your biological family?"

Loki shook his head, "No. I could not find anyone with a close enough genetic match to be matched to me as a donor."

"So what happened?" Odin asked.

Loki let out a deep breath, "Tony found a way."

His family turned to look at Tony, and Tony smiled, "Um... yeah. Something I'd been working on. All experimental and not really ready for the rest of the world," he said.

"Experimental?" Frigga frowned, "Loki?"

"It is fine, really. I am better than ever," Loki said.

"You're not explaining what was done," Thor finally said.

Loki sighed, "It is complicated."

"Not something we'd understand?" Thor asked, frowning more.

"No. It... it just...." Loki sighed, "I have nanobots in my blood. They repaired and replaced all the damaged sections of my lung and any other areas of damage."

Silence built across the table as his family stared at him like he'd grown a second head and started breathing fire.

"Nanobots?" Odin repeated.

Loki nodded, "Yes. Tony's invention."

Tony coughed, "They're built to integrate with the body just like little helper cells with a little more repairing power. It works pretty instantly," he said.

"So you have metal in your blood now?" Thor asked.

"I am not like a cyborg," Loki said, "Please do not worry. I am still human, I just am better at recovering from damage than other people and have recovered from this illness."

"So is this something more people are going to be using?" Frigga asked.

"I doubt that," Loki said.

Tony shook his head, "I think it's still too experimental. It's also kinda tricky to coordinate. It has to be perfectly matched with the person's DNA or else the body will reject it and the nanos will try to eat the host," Tony said then coughed, "Um... I mean it's fine with Loki. We worked out all the kinks."

Loki nodded, "Yes, I'm fine now. I promise." he said.

Frigga frowned and didn't look convinced but Thor was staring at Loki like he might turn into a robot at any moment.

"And what do these things do to your brain?" Thor asked.

"They're not screwing with any sort of free will or thought processes," Tony said.

"What on earth made you take this drastic of a measure Loki?" Odin asked.

Loki tried to ignore how much disgust was on Odin's face.

"He died!" Tony said, hitting the table hard enough that his plate jumped then cracked.

Silence seeped along the table as Loki just stared at the shattered plate then stood to start cleaning it up.

"What?" Frigga asked, her voice soft.

Loki swallowed. "I died. During one of the incidents in the refineries," Loki said, his voice just as soft, "The suit returned me and Tony worked to restore me to life. He injected the nanobots because there were no other options available to us."

Tony took a breath, "I panicked. I couldn't have him gone. I didn't know if the nanos would save him but I didn't know what else to do," he said.

"And they brought you back?" Frigga asked, "Should a technology be able to do that?"

"The bots repaired the damage and that got his heart pumping and his lungs moving again. This isn't like a Frankenstein experiment, this is something that deals with the damage and nothing more, we're not out to raise the dead," Tony said then grinned, "Well the lightning revival machine I've built in the basement might be, but not the bots."

Loki blinked then laughed at the idea of Tony having some Frankenstein style machine hidden away in the basement.

The laughter broke the tension and Loki saw his mother's shoulders sag down and a smile tilt her lips. "I'm just glad you're alright," she said.

Loki nodded and went back to trying to clean up the plate, but Tony pulled his hands away and dealt with the broken plate, scooping it up and wiping up the mess before disappearing into the kitchen to get rid of the broken pieces.

"You and Tony have been together long?" Frigga asked.

Loki could hear the unheard question about why Loki had failed to mention a boyfriend to his family.

"We met just after I moved in here. We did not get along at first but as I got sicker he showed himself to be a kind man. I would not be here without him," Loki said.

Frigga looked thoughtful and nodded as Tony walked back into the room.

"Thank you. For everything you've done for Loki I mean. I worried about him living here alone when he was so sick. I'm glad he found you," Frigga said.

Tony coughed and offered a smile, "Yeah it was... it was good I was here."

"So how exactly did you meet? Loki is such a homebody I can't imagine him going out to meet anyone," Thor said.

Loki scoffed at him. "I am not a home body."

Frigga, Odin, Thor and Tony leveled him with a stare and Loki just crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.

Tony coughed, "Well we met through one of the robots here. Loki was poking around in it," Tony started.

Loki glanced at Tony then sat up straighter, "I think it might be easier to just say it, Tony."

"Say what?" Frigga asked.

Thor just looked back to his food rather than deal with whatever next reveal was about to happen.

Loki reached over and took Tony's hands, the slightly warm sturdy hands filled him with the burst of confidence he needed to get the words out. "Tony is actually Anthony Stark, original owner of this home," he said.

Another long silence hung over the table before Thor's laughter broke it, "Ha, that is a good one Loki."

"What?" Loki looked at his brother.

"Anthony Stark died ages ago, his reincarnation would have no claims to this home, and no memory of it after so many years," Thor said.

Loki sighed, "I did not say that he was a reincarnation. He is Anthony Stark."

"That's not possible," Odin said.

Tony sighed and stood up, "Sorry babe," he told Loki.

Before Loki could ask, the android suit powered down and thumped to the ground. Frigga leapt from her seat to Tony's side, "What happened? Is he alright?"

"I'm fine," Tony said from where he hovered over the table.

Frigga froze and Odin and Thor both leapt back from the table. Odin immediately stood in front of Frigga while Thor moved to his brother's side. "What manner of joke is this Loki?" he demanded.

"No prank here point break," Tony said, "I was just showing you what I am. That meat suit over there is something Loki and I built so I could have a physical form."

"You are a ghost?" Thor asked.

"A digital one maybe," Tony laughed, "Look, I made a program that was me. I didn't want to be dead so I made a digital me and locked it away in my house. No one was supposed to ever find it."

"Then why make it?" Frigga asked.

Tony smiled, "See that'd require a good answer and all I've got is that dying doesn't make you rational," he shrugged, "Anyways, Lokes here showed up and poked around. He woke my programming up and we got into it over who owned the house."

"He blew up the toilet," Loki said.

Tony coughed, "Yeah, you're always going to be bitter about that aren't you?"

Loki shook his head but he was smiling.

"You're dating a...hologram?" Thor asked, "But they aren't people."

"Hey, I'm standing right here. Rude," Tony said then added, "Look, I'm sentient. Okay? I remember who I was, and I have emotional reactions. I'm human aside from the whole not having a real body thing."

"His technology is incredible. He is an independent program that operates at the same level a human mind does," Loki said, "I thought the same thing originally but I have come to realize he is just as human as you or I."

Loki tried to not wonder about how human he himself really was after the nanobots.

"You never could just date a regular person," Thor finally said, shaking his head.

"What?" Loki asked.

"Our whole life, I always tried to introduce you and you never were interested in anything but your books and your programs. It would be a program that makes you finally date," Thor said.

Loki sputtered as Tony laughed.

"Would you mind getting back into your...." Frigga motioned to the android on the floor, "So we can finish dinner?"

Tony nodded and floated back over to the android. It took another minute before the suit booted back to life and Tony sat at the table. Finally everyone began eating again and Loki relaxed. His family hadn't tossed him out for the nanos or Tony. He had a family again.

"Have I told you about when Loki was little and couldn't say program?" Frigga asked Tony.

Loki groaned, "Mother, no!"

Frigga just grinned, "He called them p-grams."

Tony blinked then laughed hard and looked over at Loki. Loki groaned and just hid his face in his hands.

"I'm going to get dessert," Loki said and stood.

Tony leaned over to Frigga, "Okay, tell me more about little baby Loki."

Loki covered his head and left the dining room to grab the desserts he'd prepared.

By the time Thor was done eating most of the food was gone and Thor was rubbing his stomach. "That was amazing, thank you," Thor said as he stood up.

Loki nodded, "It was nice to have you all by again," he said, "It certainly ended on a better note," Loki said.

Odin patted Loki's shoulder. "We are proud of you Loki."

Loki smiled, "Thank you."

Thor pulled his brother into a bone-crushing hug then offered a hand shake to Tony. Loki tried to not smirk when Tony winced at Thor's grip.

Frigga smiled and kissed Loki's cheek before kissing Tony's cheek as well. She then pulled Loki into a hug, "Don't you ever disappear like that again young man."

Loki couldn't hide the smile as he hugged his mother back and buried his face briefly in her sunshine hair. He took a breath, "I will not. I promise," he said.

She rubbed his back before stepping back and smiling at Tony. "You take care of him, alright?"

Tony nodded, "You got it."

Loki watched from the doorway as the trio of his family walked down to their car and left, Frigga waving at him until the car vanished down the twisting driveway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was delayed a bit. Had a bit of a rougher holiday than I thought.   
> Final part of the epilogue (smuuty time!) will be up before 2016 (in my time zone at least)


	31. Epilogue 3 of 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE SMUT CHAPTER

 

"So that went better than expected," Tony said, watching Loki.

His boyfriend looked like a million-ton boulder had been lifted off his shoulders. He'd never seen Loki smile so much and so easily. It looked good on him. Really good.

Loki closed the door and let out a long sigh. "Yes, it went better than I could have guessed."

"They love you Lokes, they're just glad you're alive," Tony said.

"You might not live much longer if you keep calling me Lokes," Loki said, crossing his arm with a smirk.

Tony laughed, "Come on, let's help dum-e get the plates picked up."

"Yes, or else we may not have any plates left," Loki said.

They beat dum-e to the table and got everything into the sink where Jarvis took over the clean up. Tony sighed, "Feels weird eating stuff again."

"Are you sure the food consumption option is working? Last time you got ill."

Tony groaned at that memory. "Yeah I think it got worked out in this model."

Loki nodded, and sighed. "I can't believe this went well."

"I can't believe your brother actually eats that much," Tony said.

Loki shrugged, "He always has."

"I'm going to go finish some of my work before bed. Can you keep yourself out of trouble?" Loki asked.

Tony grinned, "Oh, always."

Loki smiled and kissed his cheek before he went to work on the patio. Tony savored the feeling of Loki's lips on his cheek. Soft and warmth filling an ache that spanned years. He watched Loki for a moment before heading down to his own lab. "How's that latest Mach going Jarvis?" he asked.

"Just finishing now sir."

"You're the best," Tony said as he got the android body he was wearing to its proper platform and then slipped out of it. "It's been fun 18, but I got a higher class ride."

"You used the new silicone base model with implanted neural detectors?" Tony asked.

"Of course sir."

Tony grinned and floated around the lab, "Well don't keep me in suspense, let's see it!"

There was a faint hiss as the chambers they'd converted to the android creation center or 'baby maker' as Tony had labeled it opened. Tony floated over and whistled, "I'm one hot piece of ass, huh?" He nodded.

This model looked more human, in fact, aside from the slumped over lifeless posture, Tony would have though it was some kind of person sitting there, albeit a person with his face and looks. Tony grinned, "It's ready for a driver, right??" Tony asked.

"Yes sir."

"All biological functions intact?" Tony asked as he circled the android. It looked perfect, even down to that freckle on his ass.

"Sir, this is the 25th iteration. I have included all requested elements including biological functions."

"Just checking ya Jarvis," Tony said as he slid into the android.

This time it felt natural, not like he was wearing an ill-fitting glove all over his body, but that he just was. He took a breath and felt the crisp air of the 'baby maker' burning against his lungs. "Damn. This is... amazing," Tony said.

He took another breath then pinched his arm. It stung and he laughed. "Holy shit! Loki!" He ran up the stairs and for Loki.

The patio was empty and Loki could hear footsteps overhead in the bedroom. He grinned and ran up the stairs, "Loki!" he yelled as he burst into the room.

Loki sat in bed with a book and looked up then stared, "You are naked."

Tony looked down at himself, "Yeah, I look good, uh?" He grinned

"What are you doing?" Loki asked.

"This is my newest model and I feel like a person," Tony said then laughed.

"Congratulations," Loki smiled, "Now, pants?"

Tony grinned, "Why on earth would I do that?"

Loki laughed, "You just showing off?"

Tony crawled into the bed, "Come on, we've been together a year almost and while talking through jerking off is the hottest thing, the one thing I really want right now is to get a real taste of you," he purred.

A faint flush crawled up Loki's cheeks and Tony loved the color, candy apple red and Tony wanted a bite. He crawled across the bed and pulled Loki's book aside to pull his boyfriend into a kiss. The flavor of Loki's lips burst across his tongue, sharp and more vibrant than any meal. Loki groaned and just pulled Tony tight.

Tony smiled. It'd been a while but he still knew what to do as Loki slid onto his back and Tony straddled him, keeping their lips together. Loki pressed up towards him, holding Tony closer and stringing his fingers through Tony's hair before Loki pulled back and caught his breath. "You must like this one. You haven't done anything like this in the other mock ups," Loki said.

Tony smiled, "Yeah, this one feels like Tony Stark in the flesh and you taste even better than I've been imaging," he said before licking his lips.

Loki laughed breathlessly before pulling Tony back down into a kiss as Loki began unbuttoning his shirt and peeling it off.

"I'm guessing sex isn't too different in the future here," Tony said as he parted their lips to let Loki more easily remove his shirt.

Loki smiled, "No, I doubt that has changed since man first discovered it."

"Thank god, why mess with something already awesome?" Tony asked with a grin.

Tony's fingers toyed with the button of Loki's pants. Loki took a breath, arching his thin hips towards the touch before he let out a long breath and nodded. "Yeah."

Tony smiled and unbuttoned his trousers before slowly lowering them down.

 

“You still remember how it works old man?” Loki asked breathlessly.

“You wound me,” tony grinned.

Loki lifted his hips and tony gently began tugging Loki’s pants down his thin hips. Even through his boxer briefs tony could see Loki was half-erect already and tenting his underwear. He grinned, “Do you remember how to do this there hermit?” Tony asked.

“I have had sex more recently than you,” Loki huffed.

“That's not a great record babe,” tony said.

Loki leaned in to kiss him and tony moaned into his mouth as their bodies pressed together and tony suddenly realized he was hard, already totally hard and feeling like a teenager who had just discovered jerking off. At this rate he wasn't going to last long at all. He just hoped he had the recovery rate of a teenager too, he sure as hell was not going to be a one and done tonight. Not when he finally had his hands on the long, lean body he'd been fantasizing about since the moment they met basically. Not that he would admit that to Loki. Hologram in an android body Tony Stark might be but he still had his pride.

“You look like you're happy to see me,” Tony said.

“I am very happy to be touching you.”

Tony let out a long breath, “Likewise hot stuff.”

Loki pulled tony into another kiss and arched his hips to grind into tony with hunger. Tony moaned and pressed back against him. His skin felt like it might burn him up and he was fanning the flames. He'd happily let himself be consumed by this heat. “Fuck, Loki.”

Loki smiled, “That is the idea yes.”

Tony groaned and pressed his face into Loki's chest. Loki strung his fingers through Tony's hair. “The great Tony Stark shy?” He asked.

“No. Just… I'm already about to shoot off a firework show and you're not even naked yet. That's a little embarrassing,” Tony muttered.

Loki laughed and pulled his face up to kiss him, “Shoot off as much as you want. We have all the time in the world now.” Loki said.

Tony grinned, “Yeah well I'd like to start tonight off with some banging rather than waiting for the rest of the time in the world. I've waited long enough. We both have.”

Loki kissed him again, moving their bodies together slower, rubbing and pressing together like they could somehow find more space there to let them fall closer together.

Loki finally pulled away enough, forcing a distance between them so he could get his last article of clothing off. His underwear soared off the bed and tony moaned at skin touching skin with nothing between them anymore. Loki's body was flush and firm, pulsating against him. Tony swore he could feel the hum of the nanobots thrumming against Loki's skin likes drumming in his veins. Their lips crashed back together and this time they writhed together without a rhythm or a pattern other than a desperate need to feel good, to feel together.

Tony came fast and hard and with only a soft cry as a warning before slickness spread between them. There was silence then Loki laughed. “You built a body that could ejaculate?”

“I built an anatomically articulated body!” Tony protested as he tried to catch his breath.

“What on earth even is that liquid?” Loki asked, reaching between them to run his fingers through Tony's mess.

Tony grinned at him, “Lube.”

Loki blinked then laughed so hard he shook the whole bed. “You pervert!”

Tony just smiled, “Genius right?”

“Clever and also somewhat disgusting,” Loki said.

Tony gave him a quick kiss, “But mostly clever.”

“I did not say that.”

Tony pouted until Loki kissed him again. Loki's erection rubbed against Tony's stomach and through the lube there. The feeling of Loki writhing against him Sent Tony's own body responding rising quickly again to the challenges.

“You sure about this?” Tony asked.

Loki nodded, spreading his legs and arching his hips, “Yes tony. Yes!”

Tony swallowed hard and nodded. God, he wanted Loki like nothing else, like no one else he had ever known before. He pulled up to kiss Loki again, savor in his warmth and the taste of Loki against his skin. His whole body vibrated around the force of Loki that had entered his atmosphere and now Tony was powerless to break free, and he didn't want to, he'd never met anyone who'd kept up with him, challenged him on every possible level and tony couldn't ever imagine finding someone like that again. It'd taken him more than one lifetime to find Loki and he wouldn't let him go again, not for anything in the entire universe.

Loki kissed Tony again, pulling Tony out of his thoughts and back into the moment in front of him. Tony moaned and brushed his fingers through Loki's hair, tangling in the dark locks and pressing Loki into the bed as Tony trailed his fingers through the slickness he'd spilled. He lubed up his fingers and glanced at Loki.

Loki offered a smile and another arch of his hips. Tony stole one last kiss before his fingers slid slowly between Loki's legs, tracing over the soft flesh there before finding Loki's entrance. He traced a slow circle before slowly starting to push in with just one finger. Loki shivered under him, dropping his head onto the pillows with a groan.

Tony moved slowly, deliberately. He wanted this so bad he was shaking but he'd be damned if he was going to rush this and make this experience anything but perfect. He wasn't going to hurt Loki no matter how much he wanted to feel this tightness all around him. Loki shuddered again and Tony felt him relax just marginally.

Tony took that chance to slide in another finger and beginning to slowly scissor and stretch Loki open. Loki's thin fingers gripped into the sheets as his breath caught in his chest and came out in short, sharp puffs.

"You ok?" Tony asked.

Loki managed a nod but no words.

Tony focused on Loki's face, on the way blood rushed up his cheeks, how he bit his lip to try to keep himself quiet. Loki's hips rolled into the touches, urging Tony on and Tony finally pushed in a third finger. A moment of resistance faded into tight, warm welcoming bliss and Tony moaned, imaging what it would be like to feel that tightness all around him.

Loki whimpered in soft, pleading mewls as he clawed at the sheets, "Fuck, Tony....get....get on with it!"

"You sure you're ready?" Tony asked, pressing a bit deeper and Loki bucked up into the touch. Tony grinned, "Yea?"

"Dammit Tony, just... just do it!" Loki begged.

Tony pulled his fingers freed and slowly positioned himself. His hands traced along Loki's thighs before he began the slow push in. He and Loki moaned together as tightness wrapped around Tony. He had to stop and catch his breath before he continued pressing slowly in until he finally pressed flush against Loki. They both panted for air and Loki quivered around Tony.

Tony couldn't quite form words as he tried to keep himself under control. He was not going off again, not without Loki at least getting his own orgasm first, but he didn't know how long he'd last. He had to make it happen though so he bit at the inside of his cheek. Pain still felt foreign against his mind but it stilled the boiling orgasm just beneath the surface as he caught his breath and got himself under control.

Under him, Loki shifted and adjusted his hips. "Move," Loki said.

Tony didn't need to be told twice as he began moving his hips slowly at first, learning Loki's body. Then Tony began to shift his hips, arching and twisting until Loki gave a sharp cry, his toes and fingers curling as his eyes flew wide open.

Tony grinned; oh yeah, he still had it. He bit harder at the inside of his mouth as he moved faster. Loki's voice climbed higher and louder with each thrust, his fingers freed themselves from the sheets and scratched down Tony's chest instead. The welts of pain boiled in with the hot pleasure of sex, burning pain and pleasure into a hot sensation that filled every bit of Tony's body. Every sensation was filled with pleasure and he knew the end was coming fast.

He reached down to begin stroking Loki's erection, it already leaked with pre-cum and the touch sent Loki arching into Tony's touches then rolling into Tony's pounding pace. His voice screeched and his nails bit through skin as Loki's body quaked then tightened like a vice around Tony as he spilled into Tony's hand and quaked all around Tony's body.

Tony only made it another second and another thrust before he came with a strangled shout. Then he dropped onto Loki where they both panted for air in a silence filled only with hot puffs of air.

"How'd I do for an old guy?" Tony finally asked.

Loki laughed and kissed Tony's cheek, "Maybe next time we can last a little longer, but I am not complaining."

Tony grinned and gave Loki a kiss, "That was incredible. You're gorgeous you know?"

Loki smiled, "I have heard that."

Loki stretched and once Tony had caught his breath, he slowly pulled free. Loki whimpered a bit and sagged down into the bed.

Tony kissed his forehead and climbed out of the bed, "Let me clean you up."

Loki nodded, "Please."

Tony walked into the bathroom and washed himself off quickly before grabbing some clean towels and a washcloth and walked back over to Loki to begin cleaning his lower, a smile stayed plastered to his lips.

"What?" Loki asked.

"I just got laid and it was awesome," Tony said.

Loki laughed and shook his head, "You are ridiculous."

"I'm happy," Tony said, tossing the dirty towels and rags to the side and tugging Loki over onto the dry side of the massive bed. Loki smiled and got comfortable against Tony's chest.

"Better than just watching?" Loki asked.

"Babe, as hot as you are, nothing compares to actually getting some real hands on experience," he said.

Loki laughed, "Fair enough."

"And how was I?" Tony asked.

"Oh, you do not need anything added to your ego."

"So good?"

Loki rolled over and gave Tony a long kiss, "Good, and now I am ready to sleep."

"Wore you out?"

Loki rolled his eyes and got readjusted and comfortable against Tony's chest as he yawned. Tony smiled, watching as Loki's eyes drifted closed, his chest evened out as his breathing slowed and sleep washed over him. Tony sighed and ran his fingers through Loki's hair.

He finally had a second chance at living and this time, he wasn't going to waste a second of it this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This marks the end of String Theory!
> 
> Thank you all for sticking with me through it and for being an incredibly, supportive and lovely group. You're all incredible people and I adore you!
> 
> Happy New Year and may 2016 be everything you desire! 
> 
> <3 <3 <3


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